


House of Cards 2 - A BTS x Hogwarts AU

by jackfruitnim



Series: House of Cards - A BTS x Hogwarts AU [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: AND I MEAN WHOLE LOTTA PLOT, Alchemy, Almost Adults, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Wizards, BTS as students, Betrayal, Coz he smooth like a snake, Dark Arts, Dark Past, Death Eaters, Does a sequel require many tags?, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Problems, Friends to Lovers, Hate to Love, Hogwarts, Hoseok Prefect-Captain Hufflepuff, Jeon Jungkook Is a Brat, Jimin Slytherin, Jungkook Prefect-Captain Ravenclaw, Love/Hate, M/M, Magic, Maknaeline best friends, Ministry of Magic, Mutual Pining, Namjin Being Domestic, Namjoon Headboy Gryffindor, OT7, Original Character(s), Plot, Potions, Quidditch, Royal Families, School, Secrets, Seokjin Pureblood Gryffindor, Sequel, Sope, Special Powers, Taehyung is the maknae, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenagers, The devil is in the details, True Friendship, Tsundere Min Yoongi | Suga, Werewolf, Witches, Wizards, Yoongi Pureblood Slytherin, Yoongi has Dragon Magic Blood, Yoonseok - Freeform, namjin - Freeform, prince jin, slightly historical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2019-10-24 23:55:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 195,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17714105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackfruitnim/pseuds/jackfruitnim
Summary: Continuation of the House of Cards series.The lives of the seven boys have fallen all around them like a collapsed house of cards.A danger looms over Kim Taehyung. New forms of power seek him, some to use him, some to destroy him and some to befriend him. No matter how much his friends try to keep him safe and away from the snares of the world, he only gets entangled further. In his hunt to find his true self, he has to make some hard decisions.





	1. The Turning Wheel

**Author's Note:**

> **This work is a sequel to my previous series > **  
> **[House of Cards Part 1 - A BTS x Hogwarts AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/38939573) ** 
> 
> If by some miracle you stumbled on this first, then please PLEASE DO NOT READ without reading part 1. This would be a **MAJOR SPOILER** if you happen to like the story. **READ PART 1 FIRST** if this summary interests you.
> 
>  **Important for the readers. Please don't skip**  
>  If you remember, I had mentioned the whole issue of mine with the 'underage' tag. The characters in this story who would be sexually active range from the ages of 16-18, both M/M and F/M. So be warned, there is high-school romance in this story and there is going to be some level of smut, light to heavy.
> 
> I will update every Tuesday and Friday. (Will try my best to stick to the schedule)
> 
> We've all waited to read this. I'm nervous honestly. Hope you all like this one too!
> 
>    
>  **Incase you are confused with the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung is struggling with the truth of himself, unable to come to terms with what has happened with him and what he's done in the past. He is alone, yet he doesn't want to seek his friends, the feeling of betrayal fresh in his heart. 
> 
> Yoongi and Laura are taken by the Ministry, facing the possibility of a life at Azkaban. Their only hope are Hoseok and Seokjin but the Gryffindor still lies in his state of comatose, dead to the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yells and runs away*
> 
> *comes back coz I gotta say something from my heart*
> 
> This entire House of Cards series, and especially the coming 5 chapters would not have been possible without the immense help of my 2 friends. This exists because of them. Thank you, you two. 
> 
> *k bye*

#    

**“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first** **_destroy_ ** **a world.”**

**― Hermann Hesse. Demian.**

 

**Part 2 | Chapter 1**

**The Turning Wheel**

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Rupert Gregson Williams - We Shall Go To War](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pkGoo5q6RY&ab_channel=Cinephile) _

The office of the Chief Investigative Auror was in shades of white and black marble, giving it an extremely clinical feel. Situated several feet under Whitehall in Westminster, there was no use of windows and the room’s walls were stacked with books and portraits of previous remarkable Aurors.

Auror Rufus Scrimgeour sat on his ebony desk, his forearms resting on the edge, fingers together. His gaze scrutinized the two teens in front of him who had not shown one shred of fear or humility in them. His gaunt amber eyes studied them, trying to instill fear and intimidation but so far he had failed. He had to remind himself, they were their grandfather’s descendants. It wouldn’t be so easy when they were accustomed to looking into those penetrating, knowing eyes of Charles Dracwyn.

Min Yoongi sat on the black leather chair, leaning on to one side, a hand on the ebony armrest. He looked much at ease like nothing fazed him. Rather he looked like he was silently having fun, his mind imagining how much his captors were going to regret this. Next to him, his cousin Laura sat like someone regal who had better places to be other than this boring monochrome office. Her eyes were cold, lips slightly pouted and she sat haughtily on her chair, thumb fidgeting with the ring on her finger, giving raised eyebrows if anyone asked her anything. Two more Aurors flanked the closed door.

‘If you confess now,’ Scrimgeour broke the temporary silence, ‘I promise I will make the Wizengamot give you the least extreme sentence,’

Both Yoongi and Laura chuckled, rolling their eyes.

‘We told you before, and now we are telling you again,’ Yoongi spoke with a snide smile. ‘We will not say a word without the presence of our Grandfather-’

The doors were hastily pushed open and two men came in. The younger one among them had his silky blonde hair tied in a ponytail at his nape. His cat shaped greyish-green eyes immediately landed on Yoongi with recognition. The one walking behind him was a few decades older but his demeanour was far more domineering with square jaws tight in anger, the lilac eyes giving away his cold rage.

‘What is the meaning of this?’ Charles Dracwyn roared and the two students could just feel everyone cowering in their own frames. They had awoken the dragon and now he was going to burn every last one of them.

‘Lord Dracwyn,’ Scrimgeour rose from his seat, trying to hold the upper hand, something which wasn’t an easy task in this case, ‘This is an investigation by the Ministry. You cannot just come barging in-’

‘You took my grandchildren without even sending me word. Do you really think that was wise Mr. Scrimgeour?’ Those stone cold eyes pierced the auror.

Another man entered through the open door, he looked a few years younger than Charles Dracwyn and was rather handsome for this drab office. His brown hair was pushed back over a head which was starting to bald with age, but that didn't hinder his handsome features even with the few wrinkles on his face. He had beautifully shaped lips and a sharp jawline to compliment his broad shoulders.

‘I think we’ve had enough of your tyranny Lord Dracwyn,’ the man said, coming to stand next to Charles, the younger’s brown eyes holding the older with smugness.

‘Lord Kim it will be best if you don't bring your gloating face into these matters. I assure you, your happiness will be quite short lived,’ Dracwyn said with confidence to his long-time rival.

‘I am only here to make sure all the proceedings happen orderly… and legally,’ Kim Hyunseok’s eyes looked from Charles to the younger, blonde haired man. ‘As a chief minister of Law Enforcement, it is my duty,’

The blonde man moved from Charles' side to stand in front of Lord Kim. Yoongi noticed how similar Seokjin looked to his father, the same eyes and shoulders.

‘Then you should have interfered before, Minister-of-Law,’ he raised his eyebrows and spoke with the same cocky tone that Laura had heard Yoongi use when he was especially pissed off. The man continued. ‘Before your Ministry men took my son and niece into custody without informing their guardians first. They are still minors and what was done was unlawful,’

‘Are they?’ Lord Kim cocked an eyebrow, ‘Miss Dracwyn yes but Lord Min, your son turns an adult this year I believe,’ he stated, a small smile creeping up his lips. ‘And then I think he should be tried as an adult as well, don't you agree?’ He looked at the Auror who nodded.

‘Kindly tell us the chargers,’ Min Yeonjae asked Scrimgeour but his eyes were still on Kim Hyunseok.

‘Conspiring and aiding Death Eaters in invading Hogwarts, use of force and curses on members of the school and attempted abduction of Kim Seokjin and Kim Taehyung. Secondary charges include physical and mental abuse of fellow Slytherin student Miss Gwen Osborne,’ Scrimgeour aid. ‘Your children are known to associate with bullies, any Hogwarts student will tell you that,’

‘I believe we need hard evidence over spoken gossip Mr. Scrimgeour. So where is your evidence?’ Charles Dracwyn asked.

‘The key witness will be brought in safely during the trial,’ Scrimgeour said.

‘Well then. I will be taking my grandchildren with me till the day of the trial,’ Charles stated, moving towards Laura and Yoongi who were starting to get off their chairs.

‘They are under Ministry’s custody Lord Dracwyn!’ Scrimgeour reminded him to which Charles just gave him a disinterested look.

‘All I will need is a letter from Cornelius and you know I will be able to take them with me. Or we can save time, trouble and humiliation because let me tell you Mr.Rufus Scrimgeour, after your antics I do not have much patience left,’

Scrimgeour sat back into his chair, his posture defeated but his yellow eyes still glared at Charles.

‘It's alright Mr. Scrimgeour,’ Kim Hyunseok said. ‘Keeping them here won't do much good. Let them prepare for the trial. They are going to need the time I believe, which is scarce as it is. And Lord Dracwyn?’ he turned to face the man one last time, ‘Those Death Eaters came for my son, my only son. So if you think I will let anything slide by me, then you are wrong. Whoever thought of harming my family will be punished,’

Charles Dracwyn did not reply, only glared at him coldly and beckoned his grandchildren. The two slid off their chairs, Yoongi with a smug smile and Laura reflecting the expression irate of grandfather.

When they were in the corridor heading towards the Atrium, Yoongi’s father told them to go ahead and wait near the Fountain of Magical Brethen while the elders spoke to the Minister with their family lawyer. They went up an elevator and the two cousins continued on their way. The corridor was lined with doors and one of them opened, a women standing on the other side. The cousins recognised her instantly- Taehyung’s mother, Auror Kim Jiyeon.

‘Could I speak with you two,’ she said, widening the door and they went in cautiously.

‘Mrs. Kim,’ Yoongi began to explain. ‘Your son…’

‘What has happened?’ Jiyeon was alarmed by their serious faces.

‘The reason we are in custody is because that student, Gwen, she triggered your son’s powers… and now Taehyung knows what he his. His Elkyre powers have surfaced,’ Yoongi explained and with every word, Jiyeon’s face was becoming more and more horrified.

‘No… No no no,’ Jiyeon put her palms on her face and sunk into her chair. She ran her hands over her face which had gone pale with fear. ‘Are you sure?’ she asked the two.

Yoongi nodded, ‘I saw him with my own eyes. He had frozen the whole room. Tae’s eyes were blue and hair nearly silver,’

Jiyeon was now sure that they weren’t just misreading a situation. It had happened… it had actually happened no matter how many measures she had taken. Her worst fears had come true.

‘Where is he now? I need to see him!’ Jiyeon was on her feet.

‘If you go see him now, won’t that attract attention?’ Laura asked. ‘There is a lot happening already. We have to tread very carefully,’

‘I need to make sure he is alright! He is my son!’ Jiyeon cried even though she knew that Laura spoke sense. ‘I just need to see him,’

‘He has friends…’ Yoongi tried to sound reassuring. ‘He has really good, true friends who will take care of him in Hogwarts. Don’t do anything in a rush,’ Jiyeon looked at the boy and slowly took a few steps back and sank into her chair again.

They heard the mini gramophone on her desk ring and a voice spoke from it. ‘Jiyeon, can I see you in my office please?’

‘It’s the Minister,’ Jiyeon said. ‘We don't have much time. They will drag Tae into this case…That’s what Gwen Osburne wants. She’s trying to single him out, let the world know what he is. He won't be safe once the Ministry knows all that has happened in the past! With his powers.. And his father…’

‘The only eye witness is Yoongi and Jung Hoseok. They’re not gonna let that happen!’ Laura said.

‘You don’t understand…’ Jiyeon got up from her chair ‘I cannot ask you to put your family before my son. It will not be rightful to do so… but before you make any decision, I just want you to know that...,’ she shut her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. ‘More than I helped your mother in trying to escape from You Know Who, she helped  _me._ You need to know, that she protected Taehyung too,’ Jiyeon looked like she would burst out crying. ‘She did it for the sake of the greater good,’

*

Yoongi and Laura appeared into the fireplace of the ancient Dracwyn mansion. The main hall was enormous, enough to house at least a hundred guests. The walls were a cool gray with velvet curtains of deep purple draped over the gold gilded French windows. Dragons were sculpted into the corners and archways. The cousins stepped into the lush Persian carpet and walked towards the dining area. Three house elves came hopping towards them, and with them Yoongi’s 5 year old brother - Junki.

‘Master Yoongi! Miss Laura! So glad to see you after so many days!’ said one of the male elves. Junki walked towards Yoongi and hugged his knees. Junki was a quiet kid. He looked up with a smile and sparkling greyish green eyes, cheeks were plump like a dumpling.

‘Master Junki was waiting for both of you by the window,’ the elf named Welma said. ‘He’s refusing to drink his milk,’

‘Junki, isn’t it time for bed?’ Laura ruffled his golden hair.

‘But you just got here!’ the little boy said, half his attention on fiddling with one of the rings on Laura’s finger. ‘I want to show you my gnome collection,’

‘We’ll see it in the morning Junki,’ Yoongi took his hand and walked with him to the grand staircase leading up to the bedrooms, ‘Grandfather won’t like it if you stay past your bedtime right? Now drink up your milk and head to bed, so that we can play early tomorrow morning. Welma, take him up to his room,’ Yoongi looked at the house elf.’ And could you get my coffee? Such a long day,’

‘At once Master Yoongi!’ The female elf squeaked and ran to the kitchen.

‘Get me wine instead,’ Laura droned, tossing her prefect badge on the dining table.

Charles Dracwyn and Min Yeonjae stormed in from the Great Hall, looking absolutely enraged.

‘You both have been granted too much freedom and too many privileges!’ Charles roared over the table and both his grandchildren straightened up. ‘This is horrendous! You have dragged the family name through the mud!’

‘We haven't done anything,’ Yoongi said with averted eyes. ‘That Osburne envies us. She's trying to give us a bad name,’

‘And both of you were foolish enough to let her do it,’ Charles said.

‘She hasn't proven anything yet,’ Laura retorted.

‘Well considering she is smarter than the two of you combined, I’d say it's only a matter of time,’

‘It won’t happen,’ Laura said and her eyes said that she was confident that her Grandfather won’t let them lose the case under any circumstances.

‘Where is mum?’ Yoongi asked.

‘She should be here any moment. She is with our lawyer, gathering all the information we need for the case,’ His father replied.

Just then they heard the blaze of fire and quick, sharp sounds of heels clicking on the stone floor. Averil entered from the Hall in a long deep blue cloak and she carried a leather bound notebook. Her expression was haggard, pale blonde hair tied up in a high bun and deep purple eyes blazing.

‘Oh you both are back!’ she cried in relief, rushing forward to hug both of them tightly, kissing them on their cheeks.

‘Mom… you always worry too much,’ Yoongi muttered even though he felt a relief as his mother hugged him.

‘How can I not worry? You are my children!’ his mother scolded him.

‘Do you have the information we need?’ Charles asked her. ‘How does the case look?’

Their lawyer, a middle aged man named Mr. James Hawkworthe had come with Averil. He carried more books and papers which he set down on the table. He ghosted a wrinkled palm along his greying head and stood to face Charles.

‘The accuser’s case is strong. I'm sure she has witnesses and other students who will pose has victims of Yoongi and Laura,’ he turned to the two. ‘And that's why I need you both to tell me all that has happened between the three of you. I need the full absolute truth so that we can prepare the case, destroy lingering evidence, sabotage her cluster of witnesses,’

‘So even you think we are guilty?’ Yoongi asked him with an eyebrow.

‘Don't act like you both are saints,’ his dad said. ‘I've heard enough from Severus,’

‘And you never complained before,’ Yoongi stated.

‘We never expected you all to go against another Slytherin! How many times do we tell you this? We all need to stick together! House Slytherin is the smallest in number. If you start divisions amongst yourselves the other pure bloods families who look down upon us will tear us apart. The power will go from our hands,’ his father berated them.

‘Lord Kim is already gearing up for it. Tell me, is his son involved too?’ Charles looked at Laura. ‘I saw you both talking that day and I know it wasn't some small chit chat,’

‘His son will not side with Gwen,’ Laura stated.

‘How are you so sure? His family doesn't love ours. They have wanted to overpower us since centuries!’ Charles said.

‘That is true,’ Averil sat across her children with hands folded on the table. ‘Do not trust anyone from that family. They may be kind to the rest of the world but they will never support our family,’

‘Well, they may not support our family but I know for a fact that they will not side with Gwen,’ Laura said.

‘How are you so sure?’ Their lawyer asked.

‘Gwen is involved with the Death Eaters,’ Laura said. ‘I have a strong feeling that Bellatrix is guiding her actions,’

The elders looked away and sighed.

‘Can't that woman just calm down?’ Averil put her palms to her eyes. ‘I thought once the Dark Lord disappeared her craziness will go down,’

‘Apparently it's turned up,’ Yoongi said.

‘Alright then,’ Charles said. ‘We ought to use it against them as well. The Osburnes aren’t innocent. They escaped the Ministry the same way we did. If they start holding us guilty for that then they won't escape it as well,’ he turned to Laura. ‘Now tell us from the start. What happened between you and Gwen on the last day of the previous year?’

Laura gulped and looked away. Her mouth was dry and she took a sip of the wine from her coffee mug.

‘Well… she had cornered Kim… Seokjin,’ Laura said and Yoongi gave a quick glance towards her and then nodded. ‘I don’t know what she wanted from him. When I arrived, she was torturing him,’

‘I think she hates him more than they hate us. She keeps talking about bringing them to heel,’ Yoongi added to the lie.

‘And the thing is, Seokjin doesn't really hate me or Yoongi. I guess that irks her. Maybe she extended him a hand of friendship thinking he has the same motives as hers, to overpower our family. And he may have rejected it,’ Laura was spinning a story which she prayed they bought.

‘So when I learnt that she was attacking him to make him fear her, I realized that would backfire. Kim Seokjin won't sit quiet forever. If she crossed her line Seokjin would drag her to court, get her expelled. So I stepped in to stop her. And she attacked me!’

‘I wonder how much Dumbledore is aware of,’ Averil wondered. ‘Will he still be acting Chief Warlock for this case? Considering it involves his school and students?’

‘There haven’t been any talks about appointing a substitute,’ Hawkworthe said. ‘The complainant has asked that the trial be held at the earliest and it is a closed jury,’

‘When she attacked you, what did you do?’ Charles asked, taking a seat next to his daughter.

‘I counter attacked…’ Laura glanced at Yeonjae. ‘With Sectumsempra,’

Yeonjae glared at her. ‘You were not supposed to use that curse on anyone!’

‘I know. Snape lectured me about it enough after that,’ Laura eyes were downcast with guilt. ‘She made me too angry and I didn’t think it through,’

‘And then?’ Charles told her to continue.

‘Jin told me what was happening so I brought Snape in,’ Yoongi said. ‘Snape healed Gwen’s wounds and erased all memory of what happened. He didn’t use the oblivion charm but the memory potion since it will be more effective and will erase all memories of the day. She was sick for a long time after that,’

‘From what I hear,’ Averil said. ‘She was unconscious for days. They didn’t want to keep her in St. Mungo’s for long. She was weak for months and at bed rest,’

‘And how is Kim Taehyung involved in all this?’ Charles asked in a firm tone. Both Laura and Yoongi looked at him in surprise and his gaze made them look away.

‘That Auror’s son?’ Laura feigned. ‘I don't know I think Gwen just gets sadistic pleasure out of bullying him. He is a very easy target and everyone loves to pick on him. He is quite annoying and kind of dumb. He doesn't understand that he should stay away from us. He tries to treat us like his common friends’

‘Is that really all?’ Charles asked again.

‘What more could there be?’ Yoongi said. ‘I hardly think there’s anything more to that boy,’

‘And what happened last night in the castle?’ Hawkworthe continued the interrogation.

‘Gwen had some really stupid plan of attacking us with Ashwinders,’ Yoongi explained. ‘She sent one to Laura one day in the Great Hall in the middle of lunch. Luckily no big damage happened there. We didn’t know back then that it was Gwen who did that. We assumed it was one of those self righteous students playing a prank on us. Then after a few days, when returning from a prefect’s meeting I saw an Ashwinder head up to the fourth floor. So I headed to check out the situation with the Hufflepuff prefect. Over there, Gwen locked me in a room and set the Ashwinder eggs on me so to stop her, I froze up the whole room,’

‘The entire room?’ His father asked with raised eyebrows.

‘You know you guys should really give more credit to a 17 year old wizard. I am not incapable,’

‘Of course you are not,’ his mother rolled her eyes. ‘What can we expect from a Min-Dracwyn,’

There was a slight smug expression on Yoongi’s face hearing that.

‘Well don’t be smug about it! Its landed us in trouble now!’ his mother scolded him again.

‘Who were the other prefects?’ Hawkworthe asked.

‘There was… Emina Carter the Head Girl. Jung Hoseok the Hufflepuff prefect. I stunned Gwen before she caused anymore damage,’

‘And where were you during all this?’ Charles asked his grand daughter.

‘I was….’ Laura gulped, ‘Sleeping. In my room. I decided to skip the meeting,’

‘Is that so?’ Hawkworthe asked, ‘Because Gwen says you lured her into that room and both you and Yoongi started to torture her. Do you have a solid alibi?’

Laura inhaled. No one saw her in the common room because she was in the Shrieking Shack waiting for Taehyung. She would need Ash to lie to the court about her whereabouts, ‘My roommate Ash Vorhart can testify. We were both sleeping when all this happened,’

Averil put her face in her palms. ‘You guys are such a handful. Seriously did you all leave your brains somewhere? What the hell is this mess,’

‘And to think a 17 year old would act more maturely,’ Charles added like a sting.

‘What did Dumbledore have to say of all this?’ Yeonjae asked.

‘Not really sure what’s on his mind. He didn’t create a scene out of this and issued no detentions. And then I guess the Ministry stepped in and took over,’ Yoongi said.

‘Hawkworthe,’ Charles called. ‘You will visit Hogwarts tomorrow and gather the witnesses for the case. We only have a day,’

Hawkworthe nodded, gathering his papers, ‘I’ll write to this Jung Hoseok and Ash Vorhart right away,’

‘Can I go to Hogwarts too?’ Yoongi asked and everyone replied in unison. ‘Absolutely not!’

‘You are not allowed to move out of the house by Ministry order,’ Yeonjae added and Yoongi’s face fell along with Laura’s. His heart had lightened a little moment thinking he could’ve met Hoseok and actually had a talk with him about this face to face.

‘Alright then, I’ll take my leave,’ Hawkworthe shook Yeonjae’s hand and bowed to Charles and Averil.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Rupert Gregson Williams - A New Chapter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5QYubDeIak&ab_channel=Cinephile) _

Kim Hyunseok sat in his work room with the Osburnes- Gwen and her father. The girl looked somewhat weak, dark circles under her eyes. To Hyunseok’s displeasure, another man was in the room on behalf of the Osburnes, his pale eyes looking at Hyunseok anxiously. Why was Lucius Malfoy bothering himself with this case? Wasn’t he friends with the Dracwyns?

‘How many witnesses have you gathered?’ Hyunseok asked, hands resting on his big rose wood desk. The room had blue walls. His curtains were rose and white silk, embroidered with Victorian patterns. Photographs of his ancestors and family hung in golden ornate frames on the walls. In one of them, 14 year old Seokjin smiled, standing beside his mother.

‘Three students, junior to me,’ Gwen stated.

‘Alright. I think we have enough witnesses. We will aim at the expulsion of the two. It will be a setback that Charles Dracwyn will never be able to return from. I am glad the Osburnes saw him for what he is and have decided to leave the wrong side and join us,’

‘It's all because of Gwen here,’ Mr. Osburne spoke. The lines of age showing clearly on his forehead. ‘She opened my eyes to their hypocrisy. I know Charles very well myself. Strutting his pride everywhere, it's sickening. I'm tired of our family being a minion in his power game. We did so much for the Dracwyn family and are repaid with my daughter being abused by his grandchildren. I won't stand for this. My wife and I barely escaped Azkaban, getting entangled in their power game. That family is faithful to no one,’

‘Don’t worry Mr. Osburne. You have placed your trust in the right people this time. The Dracwyn tyranny ends now,’ Hyunseok’s dark brown eyes looked at them intensely. This was the moment he was waiting for- the weak spot in Lord Dracwyn’s plans.

‘Lord Kim,’ Gwen spoke in a careful voice. ‘I must bring one thing to your attention,’

‘What is it Miss Osburne?’ He said sitting back in his high chair.

‘I know that your son was one of the victims but… he should stay out of this case,’ she said.

‘My son?’ Hyunseok’s eyebrows narrowed. ‘I don’t want him in the public eye, giving statements to the Wizengamot. But he will give his statement to the Head Auror in a closed interrogation. That much is required for this case,’

‘He is friends with the Dracwyns. They’ve somehow tricked him into believing they’re innocent. I’ve seen him with them many times. I have a feeling they will bring him into the case and use his statements against me,’

‘Whatever you saw Miss Osburne might be less than what it looks. Seokjin will never go against my word and he knows how I feel about the Dracwyns. He's never shown much fondness for them before,’

‘But Lord Kim, we cannot afford any loose ends,’ Malfoy spoke, ‘Speak to your son, just to make sure,’

‘Not to worry, I’ll send him an owl right away. Till then, get a good night’s rest Miss Osburne. We need you strong for the trial,’

‘Thank you for helping us out Lord Kim,’ Malfoy briefly shook his hand with the other man.

‘Like I said before,’ Hyunseok held the man with a suspicious glare, ‘I will do whatever I can to bring justice to crimes against my son and his school,’

The Osburnes stood up and the two men shook hands, leaving with a nod. Once they were gone, Hyunseok’s eyes lingered at the portrait of his son and wife. Jin was smiling wide, giving a flying kiss towards the camera. Lately he rarely saw his son smile. They hardly spoke without fighting nowadays. Jin found reasons to stay away from home even during holidays, always wanting to be with his friend Namjoon. The only reason Hyunseok didn't mind Namjoon being was because Namjoon seemed like a good and intelligent boy. Hyunseok had hoped that he would be a good influence on Jin, pushing him on the right path. But so far, nothing. Jin’s attachment to Namjoon only grew, without yielding any good fruit. And this attachment was getting too strong for Hyunseok’s liking.

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - I Have To Go North](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Soh4PFvnw&ab_channel=DaenerysScore) _

Ash strode towards the infirmary with determined steps and focused eyes. Yoongi and Laura were taken by the Ministry for conspiring with the Death Eaters AND inflicting physical and mental abuse on Gwen Osburne. How did that wretched bitch manage to do this? Gwen had crossed every possible limit. Ash felt restless, paranoia of whatever was to come creeping in. She wanted everything to be back to normal and she wanted her friends safe. If Gwen was targeting them all, is it possible that she dug out the secrets Jimin was hiding from everyone? She had somehow managed to find this buried secret about Taehyung. It is possible that she aims Jimin next to tear apart their tight circle. This had to end as soon as possible. Things cannot escalate further.

She reached the infirmary were Namjoon was asleep on the chair next to Jin and rushed towards them.

‘Namjoon wake up!’ she shook the boy by his shoulder. Namjoon stirred and opened heavy, tired eyes, blinking them to focus.

‘What happened?’ He asked, surprised to see Vorhart in front of him.

‘We need to talk. Is Jin any better?’ Ash’s eyes went to the pale, still body on the bed, lying like a statue. Namjoon looked at Jin and kept a hand on his cheek. At least he wasn’t ice cold anymore.

‘I don’t know if he’s better…’ he replied in a sullen voice.

‘Namjoon, we need to talk urgently. It’s really important. Can you please come to the Shack for a few minutes?’

‘I can’t leave Jin alone,’

‘Namjoon….’ her voice dropped low. ‘Yoongi and Laura have been taken by the Ministry. Please you have to come. Meet us in 15 mins at the Shack. I’m headed there now. Tell no one,’ Ash said and left.

Namjoon was alarmed the moment he heard about the Min-Dracwyns. The higher powers were involved now. How would they ever get out of this mess unscathed? They were all just students. He adjusted the sheets over Jin and smoothed his hair.

‘Jin I’ll be back soon,’ he said to his best friend. ‘Please… try and wake up. We need you!’ He gave a last squeeze to the older’s hand and left.

Ash paced around the worn down hall of the Shrieking Shack, her footsteps thudding on the wooden floor board. Jimin who was sitting on the rose colored chesterfield sofa watched her as she went left to right while they waited for Namjoon. Jungkook was looking out of a slit from the boarded window to the Forest.

‘I’m getting restless. I need to see Tae,’ he said.

Blueberry hopped past them that moment. It had been exploring the house and now found one of Laura’s books and decided to use it as a scratch mat.

‘Oh god no!’ Jungkook ran to the kitten and grabbed it, trying to separate the book from the tiny claws. The cover of the book was pretty much destroyed at this point.

‘Blueberry! Laura is going to be so angry when she comes back! What will you say when she finds this?’ he shook the torn book.

The kitten meowed in reply, it’s big blue eyes looking at Jungkook.

‘Yeah, you’ll just get your way out by being cute with her won’t you? Its my head she’ll come after! Go scratch the sofa!’ he put the kitten down next to Jimin and it instantly cuddled on the Slytherin’s lap.

‘I think my cat only likes Slytherins. He never listens to me!’ Jungkook said, pointing at the kitten and feeling betrayed.

Jimin chuckled, taking the kitten on his lap and scratching it behind the ear. Blueberry closed its eyes and had the look of relaxed bliss on its tiny face, stretching it’s paws. Jungkook flopped next to Jimin sighing.

They heard a knock and Ash ran to open the door. Namjoon and Hoseok entered and Ash told them to sit.

‘Tell me what’s happened with Tae,’ Namjoon asked.

‘Taehyung was attacked last night, on the 4th floor,’ Ash said. ‘That whole Ashwinder incident in the Great Hall last week, was done by Gwen Osburne and we suspect she used those fire serpents to attack Tae,’

‘What!’ Namjoon couldn’t believe what he was hearing but his brain connected that to the moment when Jin’s body was burning while he was trapped in his vision. ‘Where is Tae now? Is he ok?’

‘He’s fine…’ Jimin said. ‘He… ran away to the Forbidden Forest,’ Jimin said.

Namjoon opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to form his million questions into words.

‘A fourteen year old is in the Forbidden Forest all on his own and you are telling me this now?’ He stood up as if he was rearing to go. ‘I need to find him. It’s our Taehyung out there,’

‘Don’t do that Namjoon,’ Jimin said, standing up, placing his palms on Namjoon’s chest. ‘He’ll resent us if we push too much,’ Jimin said. ‘I met him in the forest later last night. He needs his time and space,’

‘He is not safe!’ Namjoon grabbed Jimin’s wrists, tried to push him away but Jimin didn’t move.

‘Everyone here saw that frozen room and the magnitude of his powers… besides I think he has a few creatures to watch over him,’ Jimin said.

‘What do you mean?’ Namjoon asked.

‘I met the centaurs when I was looking for Tae. They were aware of his presence and told me I shouldn’t worry too much about him. Centaurs are righteous creatures. They protect the innocent. I know its hard, waiting here like this, not knowing how Tae is. But… If you were with me that moment, hearing what Tae said, you’ll know this is the best thing to do,’

‘Jimin… I’m not sure about this,’ Namjoon said.

‘Please… I know its hard but you have to trust me on this. He will come back,’

‘There are other things along with this that we need to take care of,’ Ash said as Namjoon relaxed his hold on Jimin.

‘Gwen didn’t just stop at attacking Taehyung. Now she’s filed a complaint with the Ministry against Laura and Yoongi. They’ve been taken into custody,’

‘I think this is a ploy to expose Taehyung’s true powers,’ Hoseok said. ‘Laura knew Taehyung’s secret and Yoongi saw it first hand,’

‘Yes…’ Ash realized as she thought back on it. ‘At first I thought she did it out of spite. Laura has been ruining her plans since a while… but what you said makes sense. If they investigate the case, Taehyung’s involvement is bound to show up. It is going to create suspicion in the mind of the Wizengamot,’

‘But why hide his powers?’ Jungkook wondered. ‘Being a powerful wizard or descendant of a gifted alchemist is not a crime!’

‘No… there are many things we don’t know yet,’ Ash said.

‘Jin probably knows everything…’ Namjoon stated.

‘Well then he needs to wake up soon,’

‘From what you described… what happened to Tae,’ Namjoon spoke with narrowed eyebrows. ‘With the Ashwinders egg shells found in that room and the ice, those symptoms match with what was happening to Jin when he fell unconscious. His body burned and then he froze up,’

‘You think… Jin was seeing what was happening with Tae?’ Jungkook asked.

‘That’s the only correlation I see,’ Namjoon said. ‘But I don’t understand why he’s not waking up,’

‘Maybe he’s so deep into his powers that he can’t pull back?’ Hoseok said.

‘Maybe. But I need to be with him,’ Namjoon said. ‘The way the attack hit him, I’m always worried his state will go worse. So what’s our plan of action?’

‘If it comes to witness statements,’ Hoseok said. ‘I’m ready to testify for Yoongi and Laura. I’ll even tell them about what happened with me during Apparition class,’

‘We also have to figure out, how did Tae land up alone in that room,’ Jimin said. ‘That’s an abandoned part of the castle and he knew he had to be careful about not wandering,’

‘When… the Death Eaters were hiding in the castle,’ Ash said, ‘There were some students who took food for them,’

All eyes settled on Ash.

‘If we find out who they are, maybe they’ll lead us to something,’ Ash said. ‘So, let’s start there,’

With that Namjoon, Hoseok and Jungkook left for the castle. Ash stood by the window, hands folded across her chest. The sun had already set and there were clouds coming over the autumn sky. A sharp wind blew, rustling the trees loudly.

Jimin came to her, holding her by the elbow and turning her around. ‘Hey… don’t worry about it. I’m sure we’ll figure something out,’

‘I don’t know… I’m scared… for all of us,’ she looked at him, eyebrows furrowed. ‘We don’t know who we can trust. I feel like all of us are in danger,’

‘We are not alone,’ he took her hands in his. ‘We have each other, we’ll keep each other safe,’ His warm eyes held her’s and he brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She took her hands lower and placed them on his chest as she stood on her toes, leaning in to kiss him. His arms instantly wound around her, pulling her closer. The sensation of his lips on hers comforted her, made her forget all their troubles for a few moments. As they broke away, Jimin pecked her lips one last time, his fingers tucking her hair out of her face. They held each other close, foreheads aligned and eyes closed, the warmth between them giving them some sort of assurance.

Once the sun set, they headed back to the castle as well. Both were walking towards their common room when Ash felt Jimin tense up next to her. He instantly took his hand away from her and bound his arms around his chest, halting his steps. She could see that the rims of his eyes were red from the tears that came with holding down the pain.

‘Jimin did you miss your dose?’ she asked him in a whisper. Jimin nodded through the pain. She pulled him behind a statue and removed a vial hanging on a string from within her shirt.

‘Drink this,’

He drank it at once without question.

Once the pain receded he opened his eyes.

‘You carry wolfsbane with you?’ he asked her.

Ash nodded. ‘I just wanted to prepare for the worst,’

‘Ash… if anyone sees you with this… they all know you were fighting that werewolf too! They will start dragging your names in the rumours,’

‘Like I care about rumours at this point,’ she said, wiping a tear stain from his cheek. She brushed the hair from his forehead. ‘You must be tired. Let me help you up to your dorm’ she entwined her hands with his. Jimin smiled at her, though on the inside, a guilt was creeping in. They were already in a mess and he was just dragging Ash further into it with his own problems. Was this truly alright?

They both quietly walked up to the boy’s dormitory. It wasn’t really allowed but it was illogical to not expect opposite genders to go to each other’s dorms when they were all put in together.

They found his bed. Jimin sat down on it immediately. Ash almost turned around, Jimin’s hand shot up to hold her hand.

‘Ash-’ he started.

‘It’s okay. You need to rest,’ Ash said giving him a smile. Jimin realized she was again being strong for the both of them. He knew she had a lot going on in her mind but she was still smiling for him. She put her palm on his cheek and smiled. ‘Sleep.’

Jimin closed his eyes and only then realized how exhausted he was because his eyelids felt like they were glued together and soon he was in deep sleep.

Ash walked out of the boy’s dorm and came across another sixth year Slytherin.

‘Oh..oh ! Vorhart?!’ His expression was one of surprise and shock.

‘Daxtrong,’ she nodded at the boy and made her way out to the common room and started pacing in circles. She couldn’t sit here. She need to go calm down and sort out her thoughts, figure out what to do. She decided to take a walk to clear her head.

Hoseok was in his common room, when he received a letter from someone named James Hawkworthe. Going through the contents, he understood this was from Yoongi’s family lawyer, asking him if he would be willing to testify for the Min-Dracwyns. Hoseok had already made it clear that he was more than willing to do so, even though the Ministry and it’s Ministers filled him with a fear that came from the past, when he had been questioned by Aurors in regards to the day of his mother’s abduction. But he was ready to put all that behind.

The events of last night had taken a toll on him. His paranoia was getting worse and with one of his closest friends missing, all he could think was the danger Taehyung might be facing no matter how strong everyone said he is.

He rubbed his hands over his face and took out his bottle of pills from his pocket, popping one into his mouth. He was feeling like his medicines weren’t that effective anymore. He walked to the large mirror in his dorm and looked at his face. There were dark circles under his eyes. His throat was starting to feel a little dry and his vision felt a little fuzzy. He blinked a few times trying to clear it.

*

It was already past curfew time, since Ash was friends with most prefects she didn’t find it necessary to adhere to rules all the time. She walked by the corridor on the fifth floor, where the prefect’s bathroom was. It was a perfect place since this corridor was only visited by the student council and there were no loud and intrusive paintings here. So, there was no other voices except yours. She needed a quiet place to think.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Secession Studios - The Untold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-iHnbPb60Y&ab_channel=SecessionStudios) _

She took deep breaths as she walked and heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the dark corridor. She saw it was the Hufflepuff prefect Jung Hoseok.

‘Oh hey Hoseok,’ she waved at him.

But he didn’t reply. He just looked past her, eyes focused on something else. As he walked past her she saw something fall out his pants pocket. But he didn’t seem to notice it and kept walking in his slow pace. She picked up the item- a small plastic orange bottle with some pills in it. Ash looked at the label on the bottle curiously.

‘Hey Hoseok! You dropped this,’ She turned around to call him.

He still didn’t pay attention to her.

As she walked towards him, she could hear him muttering and his posture looked strained. She reached closer and thought his movement looked a little jerky.

She put her hand on his arm to turn him around to draw his attention. ‘You dropped this,’ she raised the bottle to the level of his eyes.

Ash thought Hoseok had a strange look on his face. As if he was focused and yet unfocused at the same time.

It was in a matter of few seconds that his vacant expression suddenly transformed to a scowl that scared her.

‘You BASTARD! LEAVE HER ALONE!’ Hoseok suddenly said in a loud voice and pushed her hard to the ground.

Ash fell on her rear and looked up in confusion at him. ‘What the heck?’

But he didn’t say anything. He just reached forward and kicked her at her side.

Ash clutched at her side in pain immediately. Now she was alarmed. She didn’t know what was wrong with him but she had to save herself and get out of here.

She put her palms down on the floor and tried to scurry backward out of his vicinity and tried to grab her wand at the same time.

But she couldn’t do it in time. He seemed to sense her intent and hit her with a spell.

‘Expelliarmus!’ Hoseok shouted and approached her. Ash’s wand flew away from her.

‘Flipendo!’ He casted another spell that hit her right in the chest.

The blow made her gasp out loud and clutch her chest.

_I have to get out of here._

She tried to run again but he caught her by her robes and pinned her down by her shoulders.

She looked up to his eyes, there was some sort of madness. He wasn’t even blinking as he straddled her with all his weight.

She tried fighting him, scratching at his face or anything that her hands could reach and managed to punch him a few times. She tried to buck him off her but he wasn’t budging. She had drawn blood on his face with her nails but the pain of it didn’t even faze him.

‘Somebody! HELP ME!’ She screamed as loud she could. She couldn’t breathe properly with him sitting atop her and her struggling to fight him off.

That seemed to trigger him. He punched her jaw so hard so she felt her teeth rattle. Her lip split and Ash could taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

‘HOSEOK! STOP IT!’ She tried again. She couldn’t focus enough to try wandless magic.

‘SHUT UP JENKINS YOU BASTARD!’ He shouted again at her.

Something was wrong with his eyes. They looked glazed over. He hadn’t blinked even after she attacked him. Ash remembered the name Jenkins. He was the Death Eater who captured and tortured Hoseok's mother and more recently, he had even bloodily harmed Hoseok, almost about to kill him during the invasion. Ash tried to punch him again and buck him off. But he seemed to be possessing incredible strength.

She turned her face to the side where he was pushing down her shoulder and bit his wrist. He didn’t flinch. She knew she had got to him, his eyebrow was bleeding and his lip was busted from her punch earlier but he kept pushing her down as if he couldn’t feel pain.

‘HOSEOK! PLEASE FOCUS! It’s me, Ash Vorhart. I’m not Jenkins!’ She kept shouting at him, her throat hurting. ‘We are in Hogwarts. PLEASE STOP!’

‘Shut up! Just SHUT UP!’ She heard him scream back at her before he put both his hands on her neck to choke her. He had his hands so tight around her neck, she felt her windpipe would break.

Ash tried to put both her legs up and wrap it around his neck to choke him and make him get off from her.

He didn’t budge.

She tried to tighten her ankles around his neck. She could see his face getting redder and the veins in his forehead starting to protrude. But he didn’t stop tightening his hold around her neck. He was intent on strangling her.

She dug her nails in in his arms. She could feel them penetrating flesh.

‘I won’t let you torture her!’ He continued screaming at her. ‘She did NOTHING!’

The fury on his face was so severe she finally felt the fear she was trying to hold back.

Ash knew one of them would either die or pass out soon. She was asphyxiated, unable to speak or ask for help anymore. She had her mouth open trying to get in some air into her collapsing lungs.

She couldn’t last much longer.

Tears were falling from the sides of her face. She really wanted to pass out and hoped that would make him stop.

She tried to tighten her legs one last time. Anymore and she would snap his neck. She gathered her will casted a spell in her mind.

_‘RELASHIO!’_

She thought she heard a girl scream in the distance but she wasn’t very sure. She couldn’t see anything anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the pain.


	2. Closing Doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Incase you are confused with the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Hans Zimmer - Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k&ab_channel=Crisyta) _

The first rays of the morning sun fell on Taehyung who was asleep below a willow tree. It brought some warmth to the cold weather and the frosted leaves of the tree dripped tiny droplets down to the mossy ground. One of these droplet fell right on Taehyung’s cheek, freezing at the contact. His eyes twitched in the sunlight and he slowly opened them, eyes scanning his green surroundings where a few small wildflowers dotting the landscape with colors.

Jin watched him from across the field. He was sitting on the ground with his legs folded up to his chin, arms enclosing them. The chill burned the skin of his cheeks.

‘Taehyung, it's time to go home,’ he called to the younger boy.

But of course, Taehyung couldn't hear him. Jin had been trying to make him hear his voice since last night when he was attacked. Jin was right there in that room, burning with Taehyung when the flames surrounded him. He was there to see how Taehyung transformed and how he turned everything into ice, everything including Jin. If he could feel all that he was seeing, why couldn't he project his own presence into his vision? His powers were unfair to him. They were only inflicting him with sensations, without allowing him to affect his environment. 

He had screamed his life out at Taehyung, in hopes that maybe, by some miracle the boy would hear him. But it was equal to Jin being mute and Taehyung being deaf. Jin’s body was not here or he would've tried to touch Taehyung. Shake him by the shoulder, hug him, hold him close and tell him that everything was fine. He would still be loved by everyone the same way. But Jin’s form was like vapour. He couldn't really touch anything. The body of himself that he was seeing was a projection of his subconscious. No matter how hard he tried waking up, he was unable to, like he didn't have any strength in him to channel into his physical body. He was stuck in this dream, watching everything and doing nothing.

Taehyung hoisted himself up, leaning his back against the trunk. His blue eyes looked up at the Sun and the sky slowly started to darken. Soon the weather turned cold again, temperatures rapidly dropping several degrees. Taehyung looked down, placing his palms on the ground and started to freeze everything within the radius of several feet. He leaned back, breathing out misty air and closed his eyes. The numbing cold was his only comfort.

Taehyung wondered how long would he stay here like this. He didn't know. How was he supposed to go back when he couldn't forgive himself for what he was? Would someone come for him the way Jimin did? He didn't deserve that did he? The number of times others had put themselves in danger for his sake, he didn't deserve any of it. He felt alone but he didn't have the courage to face anyone. He couldn’t even face himself yet.

Jin watched Taehyung wander around the forest. He was searching for edible berries to eat and spent most of his time in the perimeter of the lake, experimenting with his powers, trying to create some forms but failing. His irritation would bring forth more bursts of ice, which would scare him and send him back into a shell. He tried to befriend the little creatures that flocked near the trees and shrubs, but the instincts of these animals made them stay away from this wielder of ice and that upset Taehyung even more. Once the sun set, Taehyung returned to the Willow tree, assuming his previous position with his hands curled. Jin went closer to him, still trying to call out to him.

‘Taehyung please… you need to go back. You can't stay here forever,’ but Taehyung only shut his eyes and curled his body in on the soft moss. Jin heard screams in the distance and sharply turned his head towards the castle. A girl was screaming for help and then the hushed voices drew closer. It was his friends. He could hear Namjoon, Emina and Jungkook frantically talking.

Emina rushed up the fifth floor corridor, footsteps echoing on the brown stone floor. She was sure she had heard some loud noises from somewhere upstairs during her curfew patrol. She slowly approached the dark corridor, it was so dimly lit, it was easy to miss if you didn’t know about this place before.

‘Lumos,’

Faces of gargoyles and griffins cut in stone looked gauntly at her from one side of the pathway as she walked further towards the sound. She squinted as she approached a figure with copper hair crouched down on the floor.

‘Hobi…?’ she called out tentatively. But he didn’t seem to hear her.

She got closer and knew it was him. The sounds were getting louder and she saw a pair of legs, a girl’s, crossed behind his neck. What in the world was happening? Her fear mounting, she ran towards the scene and saw that it was worse than she imagined.

He was choking a girl who was turning blue.

‘HOSEOK!!!!!!’

Emina screamed and pushed him off the girl. She tightened her arms around his shoulders and tried to lift him off her.

‘JUNGKOOK! NAMJOON! HELP ME!’ she yelled as loud as she could.

She heard loud footsteps coming her way. The two boys reached the scene and were aghast at what they saw.

Namjoon and Jungkook grabbed him and were finally able to remove him from atop the struggling girl. Jungkook straight-jacketed the restless Hoseok, enclosing him with his arms. Namjoon held down his hands.

‘EMINA! Don’t just stand there. I can’t restrain him much longer. Stun him!’ Jungkook shouted at her but Emina stood frozen in shock.

‘NOW!’ Jungkook shouted again.

She couldn’t waste more time thinking and just did as Jungkook said.

‘Stupefy!’

Hoseok immediately slumped onto Jungkook.

Namjoon let go of Hoseok’s hands and ran towards the girl who lay unmoving on the ground.

He noticed the green robes and the short brown hair and immediately knew who it was even though her skin had changed colours and her face was marred.

He bent down and picked up Ash Vorhart’s head. The girl was struggling to breathe. He felt the pain himself when he saw her face which was black, blue and bloodied, her clothes a disarray. He put his fingers to neck to feel her pulse and felt faint erratic beats.

Ash suddenly opened her green eyes and looked straight up at him. He felt her right hand enclose his and drop something into it. She looked at him for a second longer before she closed her eyes and became limp in his arms. She had passed out.

He looked down at his hands and saw Hoseok’s bottle of pills.

Emina was still reeling in shock. She looked back at Hoseok who also looked as bad as her with blood around his nose, mouth and eyebrows.

_How did this happen? Hobi would never even hurt a fly._

‘We have to take her to the infirmary right now! Hold her head while I pick her up,’ Namjoon said and Emina helped him. The Head Boy turned towards Jungkook.

‘Kook, can you handle him?’

Jungkook quickly nodded while holding Hoseok gently. He felt so sorry for having him stunned, but in that moment they had absolutely no choice. Jungkook felt his chest clenching, sobs threatening to choke out.

‘But you take her to the infirmary and then what?’ Jungkook asked, looking at Ash. ‘Tell them that Hobi did this to her? Hobi couldn't have been in his right mind, he would’ve never done this. We can't let others know!’

‘Let’s get Vanessa then. She’s the best healer I know among the students,’ Emina said and headed to the Slytherin corridor.

 

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Winterfell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8VnYUz9hHc&ab_channel=yabanc%C4%B1dizi) _

Vanessa sat on her bed chewing her lip anxiously. She wouldn't be able to sleep knowing Yoongi and Laura faced the Wizengamot within a day. They were like her family and this made her extremely restless. Rubbing her hands together for warmth in this unexpectedly chilly weather, she hopped off the bed, thinking of talking to Ash if she was awake.

She knocked on the black wooden door but no one answered. Peering in she saw an empty room of green beds and her heart sunk a bit. Could she be with Jimin? The common room was empty and she knew Ash definitely wouldn't sleepover in the boys dorm with him. She decided to check the nearby corridors. It was a little weird for Ash to be missing without a word at a time when all of them were faced peril.

As she walked out of the stone wall, she saw the Head Girl rushing towards her. Emina Carter looked like she had just run through hell to get here and that alarmed Vanessa.

‘What’s wrong?’ She asked.

‘We need your help,’ Emina panted. ‘You are good with healing spells aren't you?’

The two girls entered one of the empty classrooms of the ground floor and Vanessa saw two people she wasn’t expecting.

Kim Namjoon was sitting near a makeshift bed which had someone in it.

‘ASH!’ She dashed to the bed. ‘HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? TELL ME RIGHT NOW!’

Namjoon stood up immediately in alarm. They had never seen Vanessa angry and right now she looked like she could break someone’s neck. No one spoke anything for a while.

Vanessa looked down at her unconscious friend. Her face was blue and black. the right corner of her lip had a cut. Her right eye was swollen shut. Purple marks ran across her neck like ribbons. Her knuckles were scraped off their flesh and her hand lay oddly at her side. She looked down further but the bed sheet was on her. She went and pulled the bottom of it slightly upwards. She saw her knee was oddly bent as well.

She put the bedsheet down and took a deep breath. Her mind was a mixture of anger and fear. Was this Gwen’s doing?

‘She needs Madam Pomfrey. I cannot heal her completely, these injuries are not minor. Who did this?’ Vanessa looked dead straight at Namjoon and Emina who looked at each other. A silent understanding passed between them.

‘Ash… she was…’ Emina started.

A whimpering sound came from the bed. The three of them snapped their heads towards it.

‘You’re finally awake,’ Namjoon said quietly, mostly to himself.

Emina sighed loudly as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulder and collapsed onto a bench. She put her hands in her hair and breathed out loud.

Ash had opened her one eye that she could. She looked straight at Vanessa like she wanted to say something.

‘She can’t speak yet,’ Namjoon said quietly.

Ash kept looking at Vanessa. She again made the only sound she could. A loud groan like she was protesting and wanting to say something.

‘Do you want to try the floating quill?’ Emina asked her and Ash blinked to say yes.

Emina conjured a quill and a parchment, casting a charm on the quill.

Ash concentrated to form thoughts.

‘Secret. Secret?’ Vanessa asked looked at her. ‘You want me to keep this a secret??! You have to tell me who did this!’

 _‘Please’_  Ash scribbled.

‘Fine. Secret it is,’

She continued conjuring words.

_‘Lie. Make-up excuse. Don’t tell anyone. No Jimin.’_

‘Ash, are you sure about this? Jimin should know,’ Vanessa asked concerned.

_‘Not yet. Later. I will tell. He’s in pain.’_

‘Are you gonna tell me what happened?’

_‘Not yet. Trust me. Please.’_

Ash looked at Namjoon and Emina’s worried faces.

_‘Don’t ask them anything. Not their fault. They don’t know anything.’_

‘Okay. I’ll leave them alone… for now,’ Vanessa said.

Ash smiled slightly.

‘We are taking you to the infirmary. I'll make up some excuse for the nurses. Maybe… Quidditch accident? Broom went out of control?’ She turned to Emina and Namjoon. ‘That can happen yes?’

Both nodded.

‘Yes it can. I think that's the best excuse we can make up right now,’ Namjoon said.

‘I hope you realize the only reason I’m not asking you anything is because she asked me not to,’ Vanessa said to them.

At dawn Emina and Namjoon met near the Great Hall. It had been another sleepless night for all of them.

‘We should check on Hobi,’ Emina said.

‘Yeah Jungkook needs his break. I'm actually relieved now that we went to Dumbledore. Isolated rest is best for him right now,’ Namjoon said placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

‘You know that he wasn’t in his right mind! Something was wrong with him! Maybe someone hexed one. He would never do something like this!’ Emina tried explain to Namjoon.

‘Em, of course I know that! But we can’t do anything right now. Let’s just wait a little while. Don’t worry we will find out what happened,’

‘You know what would happen. He might get expelled… Oh my god! What if the Ministry intervenes? They are already interfering too much in school affairs,’

‘Dumbledore will take care of everything,’ Namjoon said. ‘Hey I'm gonna check on Jin and then go see Hobi alright? Will see how Ash is doing as well,’

‘Joon,’ Emina’s held him by the arm, her grip firm, letting him know that she was dead serious, ‘When… when you can, please tell me  _everything._ Since the Death Eater’s attack, something has been on Jin’s mind, he’s trying to protect Taehyung from something and I know Tae’s missing alright? I know he’s not gone to visit his sick grandmother on  _short notice._ The sooner you tell me, the better. I’m not trying to poke my nose into other people’s matters but I care for all of you. You, Jin, Hobi, Tae, Kook, since day 1 you have been my friends. So let me help you,’

Namjoon nodded after a while, ‘Thanks Em. I’ll tell you everything as soon as I can… everything’s happened so fast,’

‘I know,’ she nodded. ‘Now off you go, and don’t skip breakfast. I’ll sit beside Jin while you eat. You don’t have to worry about him being alone,’

Namjoon walked into the silent infirmary, not even the flickering fire in the mantle emitting much sound to lift the oppressive noiselessness in the high-ceilinged chamber. The scent of healing herbs and antiseptics of the infirmary had become an unwanted friend of Namjoon’s at this point. It was constricting and thick, and Namjoon felt it settle into his head, adding weight to his already heavy feet. Jin was beside him and Ash a few beds away. Vorhart’s face was a mosaic of bruises and the red on her neck starkly standing out to remind Namjoon of Hoseok’s eyes, unfocused, bloodshot and burning with emotions that could not be placed in his immediate surroundings. Namjoon stopped at her bed watching their breaths flutter softly but the sounds still not reaching him. The worry creased over his whole being and Namjoon felt like a crumpled piece of trash that failed to reach its destination, constantly being kicked about. He felt so useless, hiding so many truths and aiding so many lies, he could feel his confidence withering.

He wanted to tell Jimin the truth about Ash’s injuries. He wanted to go find Taehyung so badly, he wanted to tell Dumbledore the secrets that weighed him down. He wanted to clear Yoongi and Laura’s names, so he could begin to understand this bizzare situation. Most of all he wanted Jin to wake up. Namjoon felt the weakness seeping in him, the helplessness invading so deeply that now it was almost a physical pain. He felt trapped in this situation, in a maze he hadn’t known he was wandering into and now he was floundering, hearing the screams of his friends but unable to sort the situation. He was back at square one, trapped in a field so vast that the constricting hedges of the maze were a distant reality, now rapidly closing in on him in an ambush. Jin was his anchor and with him so far gone, Namjoon felt lost.

Jin was still as ever, a pale and flawless statue, there was no warmth left in Jin’s hands now as Namjoon took them. He pressed down on each individual finger, the springy crookedness making him recall the time he had wanted to hold these same hands. He ran his other hand through his hair, unable to look too long at Jin’s comatose form without a lump forming in his throat. The nastiest thoughts were making home in his worried mind, and he struggled to remind himself that it had only been a day since all these things had happened. He let his heavy book bag slide to the floor and walked to the window. He had spent such long hours staring out of the window in the infirmary, he knew Hagrid’s schedule by heart now. He also knew the way Jungkook lingered at the fringe of the forest, discreetly trying to call out for Taehyung. Namjoon knew all of it. Jin was still lying there unresponsive and he could do nothing but wait for him to find his way back. Sitting at the edge of the seat, his face stuck to the window pane, Namjoon was lulled in the still room to the first proper sleep he had had since Jin had gotten stuck on the other side.

 

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Forgive Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNhctnU8YVw&ab_channel=TheGringoMedia) _

A plum colored rolled parchment lay on Dumbledore’s table, with the broken seal denoting a W, weighing scales behind it and an eye on its apex. The little instruments of Dumbledore’s shelves whizzed and clicked faintly while Dumbledore stared at the plum parchment, trying to gather his thoughts for an action plan. The Wizengamot were holding the trial tomorrow and these were separate written orders requesting the presence of the witnesses for both parties.

He took his energy potion but the tiredness of age was finally catching up to the great wizard. He leaned back on his high chair, a faint ache coursing through his back and realised the old doses of this potion would need to be amped up.

He wondered where would these series of events stop. He was feeling an increased wave of magical energy coming from the forest. He was almost sure it was related to the incident that happened the night before last. He would only he be sure when he checked it out. Namjoon had brought another injured student to Dumbledore. At least this time Dumbledore was able to place the student in appropriate care, unlike with Jin where he had no idea what should be done to wake him up. Dumbledore hoped Jung Hoseok would feel better soon. As he had passed the infirmary, his eyes hadn't missed another student, Ash Vorhart, kept under intensive care. It didn't take Dumbledore too long to connect the dots, seeing marks of a struggle on both Hoseok and Ash.

Maybe he needed to entrust this matter to someone else. There was so much more going on that also needed Dumbledore's attention. But who could he trust enough to handle this efficiently. It involved a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff. He couldn’t give this responsibility to Snape right now. He was too caught up with the Min-Dracwyns being taken by the ministry. He decided to call Madam Pomfrey.

Fifteen minutes later, Dumbledore and Pomfrey sat across each other while the old wizard poured them some tea.

‘Don't worry Albus,’ Sprout said, the gaze of her round, brown eyes emitting reassurance. ‘I’ll make sure this incident doesn't get out of hand. I know Hoseok very very well. He is absolutely not capable of harming another person, whether that person is good or bad,’

‘I don't know if Miss Vorhart knows that as well. If she lets other Slytherins know what happened, they will be outraged,’ Dumbledore said.

‘Maybe I can make Vorhart see reason. Besides, the Slytherins might want Hoseok on their side right now. Isn't he a potential witness for Min and Dracwyn’s case? And we know how crafty Slytherins are. They are rarely rash in their actions. I am sure Vorhart will hold in her anger for her friends’ sake,’

‘You are right. We should be expecting their lawyers today. I got an owl last night about it,’

‘Who do you think is guilty?’

‘Sometimes it's not as easy as just one party bearing the sole blame for all that they did to each other,’

‘When is the hearing? You would need to leave for the Ministry again,’ Sprout remembered what had happened the last time Dumbledore was away and her face looked worried. ‘There’s another thing Albus. I was going to inform the rest of the staff about it in the morning,’

‘What is the matter?’

‘No one has seen Kim Taehyung since his Astronomy class,’

Dumbledore’s blue eyes widened.

‘I mean, kids sometimes bunk classes,’ Sprout continued. ‘But they usually are back by dinner time. Taehyung wasn’t seen anywhere… his friends are starting to get worried,’

‘I’ll look into it,’ Dumbledore said as his suspicions grew. ‘Don't worry about it, I'll find him-’

There was a knock on the door and both the Professors wondered who it could be at this early hour.

‘Come in,’ Dumbledore called and the door opened. Kim Jiyeon stood there with a worried face. Her short brown hair seemed a bit tousled and her clothes looked like she had come here in a hurry.

‘Mrs Kim!’ Sprout’s voice shook slightly. So Taehyung’s disappearance wasn't just students being mischievous.

‘Professor Dumbledore,’ Jiyeon said nervously. ‘I'm here on urgent.. Ministry business,’

Dumbledore nodded at her. ‘Yes Mrs. Kim, please come in. Professor Sprout I'll see you soon,’

Sprout, though immensely curious, nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

‘Mrs. Kim I-’

‘Professor I need your help and I don't have much time,’

‘Is this about your son?’

Jiyeon’s eyes widened slightly.

‘Yes… he… he needs protection… he is…’ Jiyeon still felt extremely hesitant to speak it out loud and swallowed before speaking. ‘He is dofferent… he doesn't understand the powers in him yet. Please he needs your help Dumbledore!’

‘Jiyeon…’ he said in a deep voice. ‘From now on, I will need you to trust me completely and tell me everything about him. Only then can I protect him to my utmost abilities,’

‘It is not easy to trust someone Dumbledore… I did what I had to keep him safe. I need to see him. Please we have to go find him,’

‘I may know where he is,’ Dumbledore gazed out of his window. ‘But first, tell me everything,’

The sun had properly risen and the castle was starting to wake up for the daily chores and classes. Jungkook was heating some milk for his morning drink when he saw Hoseok finally stir in the bed, a low groan coming from him. He rushed to his side, hand softly placed on the older’s shoulder.

‘Hobi? Can you hear me?’

Hoseok slowly turned towards Jungkook’s voice and opened his eyes. Jungkook had been his friend for long enough to know that look. Hoseok was scared.

So Jungkook smiled, hoping that would give some sort of reassurance. He slowly placed his hand on Hoseok’s forehead. The burning fever had passed.

‘Are you better now?’

‘What has happened?’ Hoseok’s voice shivered with fear.

‘How much do you remember Hobi?’

Hoseok shut his eyes, brows contracted in thought. He swallowed thickly and then spoke, ‘I remember heading out of my common room. I was feeling so restless and my body burned. And… I think someone was calling my name and I was walking towards it. And… I don’t remember anything after that but… there are figments,’

‘Figments of what?’

‘A fight. Did I fight with someone? Did I hurt someone?’

Jungkook took a deep breath, preparing himself to deliver the grim news to his friend.

‘You had quite a bad attack last night Hobi. But I need you to understand, it’s not your fault at all,’

‘But… what happened? How am I injured? Jungkook I can see you’re trying to hide something from me,’

‘You hallucinated about something last night… something that… made you act violent and…’

‘And what?’

‘The fight that happened, was between you and Ash Vorhart. Both of you are hurt quite badly,’

Hoseok just stared at Jungkook for a while, trying to let his words make sense… for the reality to seep in. He had hurt someone? Put someone in this very state of broken bones and bleeding wounds?

His expression seemed to become more remorseful than before. There was heavy silence before Hoseok turned around, his head hanging low. And when he spoke, his voice cracked in sobs.

‘How could I.. I... I’m so sorry…’ Hoseok said clenching and unclenching his fists around the ivory infirmary blanket and Jungkook could hear him cry. The Ravenclaw softly put his arms around Hoseok, careful not to put pressure on his fractured arm and neck.

‘Hobi, we don’t blame you, none of us do. Please! Please you have to believe us, you can’t blame yourself for this!’

Hoseok wasn’t responding. His mind had shut itself to Jungkook’s words with the guilt collapsing over and over in his head.

‘Hobi. You listen to me,’ Jungkook’s voice broke into sobs too. He sniffled between his words. Hoseok knew his friend was crying. Jungkook might tease them all day but he was the first to break down if anything happened and that just made Hoseok more guilty.

‘I know you,’ Jungkook cried. ‘You are the gentlest person I know. And I will do everything I can to prove that to everyone else. I know it wasn’t you last night… I saw your face… You didn’t even recognize me. Something else was going on. So don’t you doubt yourself for one minute!’ he said his voice rising trying to make him understand.

‘Why did I do that? Why did I do that to her??!’ He couldn’t say Ash Vorhart’s name. Just saying it aloud reminded him again of the monster that he was. He could not even think about being forgiven for what he did.

‘I don’t know...but I will find out what really happened!’ Jungkook said with determination lacing his voice and hugging Hoseok tighter. A knock on the door made Jungkook look up and wipe his tears hurriedly. A man stood there in a grey cloak, greying hair swept back and a square face looking at them curiously.

‘Jung Hoseok?’ The man asked and Hoseok turned around to look.

‘I am James Hawkworthe, the lawyer defending your friends Min Yoongi and Laura Dracwyn against the allegations put on them,’

Hoseok tried to sit up and Jungkook helped him up.

‘I wanted to write back to you last night Mr. Hawkworthe. I’m willing to testify,’ Hoseok said.

‘Yes but… what in the world has transpired between last night and this morning?’ Hawkworthe’s eyes looked over the boy’s wounded state. ‘Mr. Jung how will you testify in this condition?’

Jungkook walked into the infirmary after talking to the Min-Dracwyn’s lawyer. Nothing seemed in their favour right now with their witness involved in a mysterious accident. Jungkook had never looked this tired in his life. He had puffy eyes and was catching a cold. He sniffled his pink nose as he came to Jin’s bed. Namjoon was asleep beside him.

 _He needs rest too…_  Jungkook thought. Namjoon had not left Jin’s side at all. And when he did, he was busy trying to salvage the situation elsewhere. There was something peeking out of Namjoon’s robes, an orange bottle with a white cap. Jungkook slowly pulled it out of his pocket so that he doesn't wake him up. Turning the bottle of pills in his hand, he realized this must be Hoseok’s pills and something struck his mind.

Jimin tried to stop himself in time to turn the corner, but his feet slipped and he felt his knee scrape the floor. He wouldn’t stop though, picking himself up he sprinted the last few stairs up to the infirmary. His eyes were wild and searching as he came to the silent room and he almost colliding into Jungkook who was rushing out of the infirmary.

‘Jimin!’ Jungkook said, holding him by the arms so that both gained their balance again.

‘Jungkookie, how come you are here?’ He asked. ‘You look haggard!’

‘I came to see Jin,’ Jungkook said. ‘Are you here to see Ash?’

‘Yeah, Vanessa told me she got hit by the Whomping Willow!’ Jimin looked extremely worried.

‘Jimin, she’s gonna be ok. So… you gotta stay strong alright?’ He gripped his shoulder firmly and then left with a nod. Jungkook’s words were heavy as he spoke and that made Jimin even more anxious.

Jimin walked forward, his mouth dry in fear and his steps faltered as his eyes landed on Ash. There wasn’t an inch of skin that didn’t look red, bruised or broken. His knees weakened as he came closer. He tried hard not to wail, and punch the object nearest to him or completely break down, because he felt so broken looking at her shattered body. Jimin tried to calm himself, though a sharp clenching in his chest continued to bring fresh waves of grief washing over him as he stood next to her bed.

He curled his hands into a fist, clamping his lips shut, trying to curb the words and thoughts in his head. Vanessa had asked him not to ask Ash anything, but he had to fight to even get to see her as she held him back saying that it would not do him any good to see Ash this way. But Jimin had to see her. He wished he could have protected her from all this hurt.

She was asleep, her chest rising and falling rhythmically under the ivory blankets, and Jimin found himself not having the courage to pull it back and see how bad she was really hurt. He sank on the stool next to the bed, his hands clutching his head, confusion, insecurity, frustration and fear resurfacing in his mind. He couldn’t imagine what had happened, it was hard for him to believe all these injuries were inflicted by the Whomping Willow. But Ash had said she’ll explain everything when she can so he would wait for that.

Ash stirred in her sleep, opening her eyes slightly through the swelling. She saw Jimin looking down at her, his hands curled on the bedside as the sunlight filtered through and shadowed most of his face.

‘Ash,’ Jimin whispered, his voice hoarse and eyes anguished. Jimin bit his lip, holding his tongue, trying to regain his composure as he watched her trying to lift her hand, the one that hadn’t a cast around it. Jimin took a deep breath to calm himself, and took her scabbed wrist in his hand, holding her fingers gently, afraid of hurting her, his fingertips tracing the ridges and dips of her hand. She looked so small now even if she were made of all the fortitude in the world, and all Jimin wanted was to keep holding on to her. He brought his face closer to her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckle.

Jungkook reached Hoseok’s isolated room and walked in.

‘Kook you look so tired,’ Hoseok sat up. ‘You should've rested more,’

‘No time to rest,’ Jungkook came in sniffling his nose and closed the door. ‘I need to ask you,’ he removed the bottle of pills from his pocket. ‘Are these definitely the pills you always take?’

Hoseok took the bottle from his hands and took out a few pills.

‘They look the same,’ Hoseok said, observing them carefully. ‘Hold on… my pills usually have a mark on them. Of the manufacturer. It's like a circle with an asterisk in it. These ones don't have that. They have a different mark.. Looks like an initial… H.B… what’s that?’

‘These aren’t your usual pills? I thought so…’ Jungkook said. ‘I'm gonna hold on to these alright?’ He said shoving the bottle into his pocket. He thought he should talk to Ash about what really happened so that he could get to the bottom of this.

When he reached the infirmary, he saw Jimin sitting beside Ash, holding her hand. It had only been a few days since the two had officially got together but there was something more intense between them. He knew Jimin to be a guy who often felt intensely about his relationships in life and it seemed to Jungkook that Ash was not just a girl he was infatuated to. Jimin never spoke much about his crush on Ash in their younger years. He probably didn't bring it up because of Namjoon. But his close friends knew within themselves that he had liked her because of the lingering gazes and the way he would fanboy when she played during Quidditch. Even then he had put Namjoon before himself and not uttered a word about his feelings for Ash. At first Jungkook had hoped Jimin would snap out of it, because Ash seemed far from interested in Jimin. He was never included in the inner Slytherin circle because of his unbiased associations with the rest of the students of the school. Ash was too involved in Quidditch and her own circle of friends. But now, it looked like they fit together seamlessly… and that was the only thing bringing any flicker of happiness to Jungkook in this web of problems.

Jungkook waited behind the door for Jimin to go out and contemplated on the new threads of friendships that had formed because of all that they recently faced.

Yoongi and Jin seemed more than tolerable to each other, despite the public rivalry of their families. And he never realized that Yoongi had a different kind of respect for Namjoon. Vanessa was friends with Hoseok, who would've ever thought that. He had been friends with Ash before but now because of their drunken adventures, he had grown closer to her too. Emina told her that Laura had consulted her many times regarding her alchemic studies which they now realize was all for Taehyung.

And if last year, someone had told him he would actually be missing the snobbish, obnoxious Laura Dracwyn right now, he would've sent that person for a brain check to St. Mungos. But it had happened. He had fallen for the person he thought he hated the most. Maybe it was never hate. That was the excuse for his fascination and obsession with her. The joy he felt at getting some sort of reaction from her, he masked it as hate when it really was his internal self screaming to seek attention from her, wanting her eyes to be on him, her thoughts to be filled with him. The realisation made him embarrassed to death. Had she ever caught on it? Had he been too obvious? Maybe she had, and that's why she found him so annoying…

He saw Jimin walk past the door and Jungkook hid himself till he exited the corridor. Once his path was clear, he went to Ash.

‘Hey!’ He greeted her in a whisper. ‘How are you now?’

Ash slowly looked at him weakly. ‘Throat… hurts less…’

There was barely a sound in her and Jungkook wondered how Jimin stood strong seeing her like this. It was hard for even him to not feel like crying.

‘Ash, I know you aren't in a good state but I need to know a few things,’ Jungkook said, sitting beside her and speaking closely. ‘You found this with Hobi?’ He asked, holding the bottle in front of her. He could see that the mention of Hoseok pained her but she nodded despite it.

‘He dropped it. I tried to return it,’ she said.

‘Did he… immediately turn… aggressive?’ He asked cautiously and Ash nodded again.

‘He was calling me Jenkins… It seemed like...he was seeing someone else… his eyes… unfocused,’

‘Like he was hallucinating?’

Ash nodded again.

‘Ash… I know Hoseok from day 1 of school. Please you have to trust me when I say this, he could've never done this to anyone. He doesn't even harm the people who harm him. He is never a violent person. Something went terribly wrong. I think someone switched his pills. Please you have to know that the one who attacked you… Hoseok is not that,’

‘I… realized that much. I know he isn’t a violent person,’ her voice was hoarse and Jungkook felt sorry for making her talk when she was in so much pain.

‘That’s why I haven’t told anyone,’ she said.

‘Mr. Jeon,’ Snape snapped nehind them in his usual nasal tone. ‘Head to class now. Visiting hours are over,’

‘Who is this?’ Ash asked, looking at the man accompanying Snape.

‘He is the Min-Dracwyn’s lawyer,’ Snape said to her. ‘We were hoping you could be a character witness for Miss Dracwyn… but that seems… unlikely now,’ his jaw set hard, looking at her condition. ‘Nevertheless Mr. Hawkworthe will take your statement. So if you could give them some privacy Jeon,’ Snape turned back to the Ravenclaw and Jungkook made his way out of the door.

Jungkook knew what his next step was and he knew the perfect person for it.

 

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[John Sponsler - Altered States](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAxi7uz3G6s&list=PLUDirXPAWEhKPs3R0ug7_8Y9Jy44FwaAP&t=0s&index=22&ab_channel=eshareth) _

‘Em,’ he came to the head girl who was by the solitary ward, having just checked on Hoseok. He held out the bottle of pills for her to see, ‘Can you figure out what are in these pills? These aren’t what Hobi usually takes,’

Emina took the bottle curiously, studying the contents, ‘I’ll try my best,’

‘I think someone switch-’ Jungkook’s attention was taken by the sight of another unknown man who he presumed would be Gwen’s lawyer. There was no Auror’s badge and he was speaking to one of his Ravenclaw juniors, a girl named Merlyn Jones. The girl seemed nervous and disturbed and the lawyer looked like he was trying to convince her about something.

‘Hey Em,’ he asked the Head Girl, ‘Is there any way I can see the Astronomy time table for the fourth years?’

‘Yeah, I think Sinistra keeps a chart in her office. Why?’

‘Taehyung was last seen in his astronomy class. I doubt he went to that chamber on the fourth floor on his own. Someone must have led him there,’

‘Jungkook,’ Emina’s firm voice made him look at her. ‘Where is Tae?’

‘In the Forbidden Forest. He was attacked by Gwen, in that frozen room,’ Jungkook watched Emina’s auburn eyes widen in disbelief. ‘Its a long story… but the Death Eaters are after Tae and that’s why they’re taking us away from him one by one,’

‘So you think they did something to Hoseok as well?’

‘Could be. Hoseok was a witness in this case,’ Jungkook said. ‘I need to go check the Astronomy schedule. I’ll fill you in soon alright?’ he nodded at her and left.

He checked the registry of equipment used and his suspicions came true. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had the class together a night ago. And Taehyung shared his telescope with none other than Merlyn Jones.

And with Emina, he decided to question the junior, calling her to their clubroom.

‘What’s this about?’ Merlyn nervously pulled the sleeves of her jumper over her hands.

‘We saw Gwen Osburne’s lawyer speak to you,’ Jungkook said. ‘How are you involved in this Jones?’ Jungkook’s eyes were fierce even if he kept the tone calm and Merlyn could feel them boring into her mind.

‘I don’t know what you are talking about,’ she feigned.

‘Jones,’ Emina gave a stern look. ‘You don’t want to testify for Osburne, do you?’

Merlyn was breathing rapidly. She gulped, ‘I… I don’t want to be associated with her,’

‘Well, you should’ve thought about that before agreeing to help her. You helped her didn’t you?’

‘We can help you out Merlyn. We aren’t the ones you need to be afraid of,’

‘Stop trying to make me confess about things I haven’t done,’ Merlyn said, getting fidgety. She made a move and walked out of the room.

‘Definitely guilty,’ Emina said.

Jungkook knew he had to somehow convince Merlyn to confess. In any case, the Min-Dracwyn’s lawyer needed to be made aware of this new development. He went looking for Vanessa to tell her to write to their lawyer. The Slytherins had their charms class going on and Jungkook waited till Vanessa exited the room.

‘Hey,’ Vanessa said when she saw him. ‘Things already seem to be going downhill,’ her voice sounded like she had lost all hope.

‘What happened?’ asked Jungkook.

‘I thought I would see Hoseok before classes start. But I saw Gwen’s lawyer exiting from Hoseok’s recovery room and he looked happy. Smug… because he thinks Hobi isn’t in a state to testify,’

‘I need you to write to the Min-Dracwyn’s lawyer that there might be more witnesses,’ Jungkook was in the middle of explaining the situation to her when his fellow prefect found him and she looked extremely stressed.

‘Jeon Jungkook I looked all over-’ Seirra stopped when she realized Jungkook was with Vanessa Turner and she pursed her lips.

‘What are you doing here? You didn't come for Transfiguration in the morning,’ she inquired.

‘I was occupied. My friends are in the infirmary,’ Jungkook said bluntly.

Sierra ignored his straight face. ‘I need you in handling the Hufflepuff situation. I can't keep doing everyone's work! Half of the student council is not around and yes that includes you. The head boy and girl also seem to be busy in their own stuff. Meanwhile the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins are at each other's throat. And actually you should be the one solving it coz it involves your best friend!’

His face became serious realising that the Hufflepuffs had noticed Taehyung’s absence. He was so preoccupied with all these other things that he had forgotten to make up some excuse for why Taehyung isn't in the castle.

‘Where are they?’ Jungkook asked and Seirra took him to the ground floor corridors where the north wing and east wing meet.

There were a bunch of 4th year Hufflepuffs, Taehyung’s roommate- Park Bogum among them. The Slytherin troublemakers Jeffrey and Derreck were on the other side, backed by their other fourth year friends.

Bogum seemed livid, finger pointing at the Slytherin duo. ‘This is not the first time you two have tried to harm him! Tell us where Tae is! If I find out you had anything to do with his disappearance, I swear I'll make sure you both are expelled this time!’

‘A mouse like you would get us expelled? Boy do you know who we are?’ Derreck sneered. ‘Lift a finger at me and my father will throw yours out of his office,’

‘That's all you have! Empty threats riding on the power of someone else. First you hid behind your prefects, now behind your parents. You are cowards,’ another Hufflepuff spat out and the other Hufflepuffs joined in, screaming COWARD at the Slytherins.

‘Why you mudblood!’ Derreck launched on Bogum, grabbing him by the collar and Bogum was about to punch him when he felt a grip on his wrist. The grip was so strong that Bogum felt his hand was trying to push at a wall. He looked to his side and Jungkook was glaring at him.

‘If anyone plans to use their fists, they gotta fight me first,’ he said, turning his head to everyone and they all sobered down a bit. No one wanted to fight Jeon Jungkook because they knew they won't win. ‘Now what's the issue here?’

‘You should be more concerned than we are!’ One of the Hufflepuffs said, casting an accusing look towards Jungkook. ‘He’s your best friend after all! Or you haven't noticed that Taehyung’s been missing since over 36 hours?’

Jungkook’s jaw set hard. ‘I know he isn't here. He’s gone home on an urgent family matter. He left early Monday morning with his mother. You all should've asked me first before coming to accuse others, since you all so confidently say that he is my best friend,’

‘What can be so urgent that he didn't even tell me?’ Bogum said. ‘I'm his roommate,’

‘Well I don't know details of the matter either. I could speak to him only briefly before he left because I was up inspecting the Quidditch ground for practice. Ask him himself when he returns. Now I suggest you go back to your class,’ Jungkook turned to the Slytherins ‘All of you,’

The Slytherins smirked at the Hufflepuffs and left while the Hufflepuffs glowered at them. Sierra watched all of this from a distance with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

‘What?’ Jungkook questioned her look.

‘Nothing… seems like you've grown a soft spot for the Slytherins,’ she said.

‘Are you serious right now? I stopped a fist fight from breaking out,’

‘It looked like you were ready to take on the Hufflepuffs if they tried to punch a Slytherin,’ she scoffed. ‘Clearly the Hufflepuffs felt that way,’

‘Sierra… just stop ok? It would be a big help if you just put your partiality on neutral right now,’ he said and started walking out of the corridor.

‘Hey where are you going?! We have class!’ She called out behind him.

‘I have work to do,’ he said without a glance back at her and quickened his paces.

*

Yoongi and Laura were in their dining hall, sipping on their morning tea. The table was long and lonely, with a crystal chandelier hanging overhead, glittering slightly in the morning sunlight.

‘What do you think Kim Jiyeon meant when she said my mother protected Taehyung too?’ Laura said in a low voice, looking deep into her cup full of tea.

‘That means aunt Amelia probably knew about Taehyung’s Elkyric powers.’ Yoongi said. ‘And… Bellatrix believed Gwen when she told her about what she saw…’

‘Which means… the Death Eaters had an inkling about this since a long time,’

‘You think… the Dark Lord knew about it too?’ Yoongi looked at Laura and she returned his frightened gaze.

‘I don’t know… Maybe? They want him so that they can become more powerful,’ Laura said.

They realized Amelia was right in protecting Taehyung. If Taehyung was an element in making the Death Eaters stronger, they couldn't let them take him. Voldemort’s disappearance was like a curse being lifted from all their lives. They couldn't go back to living under that fear.

‘We need to protect Tae,’ Yoongi said. ‘Not just for his sake, but for the sake of us all.’

Laura nodded and they heard their elf Welma usher someone in.

The mood instantly lightened a few degrees at the sight of their guest.

‘Oh it's Taemin!’ Laura said in a slightly high pitched voice which earned a confused raised eyebrow from Yoongi.

‘Hey!’ He greeted them both with his bright smile.

‘Hi!’ Laura smiled back at him. ‘What brings you here?’

‘I have a letter from my brother,’ he said, handing them a sealed roll of parchment. ‘I think they sent it last night. I was out on Auror duty and received it just now. Thought I should come give it to you,’

Yoongi took the letter since Laura’s movements had gone a bit slow as she gazed at the dark haired Auror.

‘Thanks Taemin,’ Yoongi said. ‘Would you like some lunch?’

‘No sadly I can't stay. I need to get to my office. Shacklebolt is extremely punctual,’ Taemin said.

‘Well you must come another time then. Have dinner with us, with Jimin as well,’ Laura was all courteous and charming.

‘I didn't know you guys were friends!’ Taemin said. ‘When did this happen?’

‘Well, a lot happened since the school year started,’ Yoongi said. ‘And now Jimin really is like one of our own,’

‘I'm glad he has his own people now,’ Taemin said. He knew Jimin was friendly with the whole school but without anyone to truly count on. Taemin had warned him about that. He said what every Slytherin family advices their children - in the end, stick together with your own kind. They will take care of you. Taemin was well liked throughout the school during his student years. But everyone knew where he belonged in the end and that saved him a lot of trouble.

He shook Yoongi’s hand with a small bow of the head and giving a light squeeze to Laura’s arm, he bid them goodbye and left.

Once he was gone, Yoongi hurriedly tore the envelope and Laura stood beside him.

‘I wonder what the situation is in Hogwarts right now,’ Yoongi said as he unfolded the letter.

‘It’s Jimin’s writing,’ Laura said. ‘And Ash’s too,’

_‘Dear Yoon-Laura,_

_Hope you got rescued from ministry custody! Your grandfather won't stand for this even one moment. We all are feeling a bit assured coz of him._

_Things at Hogwarts are quite intense. V still hasn't come back,’_

‘Who’s V?’ Yoongi asked.

‘It's the code-name we’ve kept for Taehyung,’ Laura said.

They continued reading and the writing changed.

_‘Hi, Jiminnie here. We miss you guys a lot! But don't worry, I know you all will be released soon. We have a lot more on Gwen than she has on us. Also Jungkook is saying-’_

The line was struck out and there were a few more words which were completely scribbled out and then the handwriting that continued was different.

_‘Don't worry. I’ll get V to come around. He always listens to me,’_

‘Who is this?’ Yoongi asked.

‘It's Jeon,’ Laura said in a small voice.

‘You know his writing?’ Yoongi was surprised. Laura turned to him looking a bit guilty and then instantly averted her eyes.

‘Well. We’ve been in the same classes since 5 years!’ Her voice was getting high as she got defensive.

‘So you know everyone's handwriting?’

‘I…. I had had more chances to see his. Because sometimes I had to confirm for myself if he was the one who wrote those assignments which scored higher than me,’

‘If you say so,’ Yoongi acted like he didn't care and Laura could see he was trying to suppress a teasing comment. She pursed her lips and continued to read.

_‘Also how much milk can I feed Blueberry? He always asks for more but aren't cats lactose intolerant? And yes, Blueberry is a male like I had told you. Hagrid confirmed it for me,’_

‘Why can't he ask a cat owner in the castle about this?’ Yoongi wondered. ‘He knows you can't write to him soon doesn't he?’

Laura didn't answer. She just had a very amused smile on her face. Why was Jungkook even writing in this letter? Was he hanging out with her friends now?

The writing that continued was Jimin’s-

_‘We either need V to come back or Jin needs to wake up. That's our best bet,’_

‘So Jin hasn't woken up yet? That sucks. He's the only one with all the information,’ Yoongi said.

‘You are right. I don't know what Tae must be going through at this moment. Is he angry? Sad? Does he hate us? I have no idea. I just hope he's safe,’

_‘You guys will come back here soon, I know it! We are trying our best._

The letter was signed by Vanessa, Ash and Jimin and it looked like Jimin had later added Jungkook’s name to it as well.

‘So Jungkook found time to write but… Hoseok didn’t,’ Yoongi’s voice went low.

‘Well, Hoseok must be knowing how to respect boundaries, unlike this hyperactive, intrusive bunny,’ Laura rolled her eyes.

‘You know… just before this whole debacle, Ash and Jimin advised me to… kind of ignore Hoseok? So that he comes to me himself, if he wanted to. And that’s what I did. Now I feel… what if I never get to talk to him again? The last thing I did was ignore him,’

Laura regarded him with an amused smile, ‘I never thought of you as the sentimental one. Yoongi, we aren’t going to Azkaban. Grandfather will not let that happen. We’re gonna go back to Hogwarts and then you can go kiss your Hoseok,’

Yoongi went red at that, ‘I never said I wanted to…’

‘Wanted to what?’ Laura teased with a grin. ‘Kiss him?’

The elders returned from their meeting and their faces didn't look as hopeful as Yoongi and Laura had expected it to be.

‘What’s wrong?’ Yoongi asked.

‘Both Jung Hoseok and Ash Vorhart are unconscious in the infirmary,’ their lawyer said.

‘What do you mean unconscious in the infirmary!!??’ Laura yelled out. ‘What happened to Ash?’

‘A Quidditch injury,’ he said.

‘A QUIDDITCH INJURY? THAT’S ABSURD!’

‘She still wanted to come but she is in no state to even feed herself. And seeing Jung Hoseok’s state I think it's better we leave him out of this,’

‘What happened to him?’ Yoongi was on his feet.

‘He seems sick as well, attacked by the Devil’s Snare while working in the Green House unsupervised,’ Hawkworthe said but his tone showed that he was finding this whole matter a bit fishy.

Yoongi gulped, unable to imagine Hoseok in pain and in the infirmary yet again. ‘How sick is he? Will be he alright?’ he asked.

‘Seems unlikely he’ll recover for the trial tomorrow,’

‘So what do our odds look like now?’ Laura felt cold dread seeping in.

‘Depends on Osburne’s witnesses,’ Hawkeworth said. ‘But as of now… not good,’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I miss Tae Tae :( So I'm gonna go watch [Spring Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeFrLSkMm8&ab_channel=ibighit) and wallow in my feels while I wait for this winter to end.


	3. Wizengamot I - A Game of Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Min-Dracwyns walked quietly, not a whisper or exchange of glances between them, but inside each one of them, a turbulence brewed. All pleas to postpone the hearing had been denied and their key witness was indisposed. They could make no mistakes in the courtroom and everything depended on how Hawkworthe presented the case. The Dracwyns passed the Osburnes to take their seats. Laura saw Gwen sitting with her hands folded, her body looking composed but her eyes were blazing. Laura shot her such a hateful look that Gwen averted her eyes, her confidence shaken for a moment. Her parents fidgeted slightly under the gaze of Charles Dracwyn.
> 
> The two families took their positions in front of the empty jury seats. The Wizengamot entered in a file, wearing plum coloured robes with a golden W embroidered on the chest. Finally the Chief Warlock - Albus Dumbledore entered with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and everyone rose till the two took their places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a long chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> **Incase you are confused with the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **

 

 

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Wizengamot Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pkGoo5q6RY&list=PLUDirXPAWEhLe3Fx08hvlxVbB8a86UhCM&index=18&t=0s&ab_channel=Cinephile) _

The sky on the day of the trial was overcast with clouds. All wondered if it would rain by afternoon. The Dracwyns arrived in atrium of the Ministry and as soon as they entered the black tiled hallway, most of the eyes turned to them. Their aura exuded royalty in their dark and fine robes. Lord Dracwyn and his granddaughter wore the Dracwyn colors of black and purple with gold accents, the dragonhead pin clasping their cloak.

Yoongi wore steel grey robes with undertones of purple. A silver pin of a dragon head over a crescent moon clasped his cloak together. The Min family’s crescent moon brooch held the deep indigo of Yeonjae’s robes, the style and cut a similar cut to the robes of his wife, whose light blonde hair made her seem almost ethereal in her slate grey robes the same as her son. The Dracwyn’s rarely made appearances in public together, not since the death of the eldest Dracwyn heir and her husband’s death. Reporters didn’t press or bar their way as if they were somehow already immensely aware of the consequences such an action might elicit. The reporters remained at a distance, silently snapping pictures of the Min-Dracwyns and their dignified solicitor walking in front of them.

The news would make front page of the tabloids, what with the involvement of the biggest wizarding Houses at the time in Britain. Reporters were trying to find any bit of information that they could since this was a closed hearing. Incidents and past histories, speculations of the Death Eater involvements and the mysterious death of the previous heir of the family, the Dracwyns had been one of the families in the thick of press attention when the Dark Lord had just fallen off the face of the earth. All of that was being repeated, placing invisible strings of strain upon them, but none of it showed on their faces as they made their way to the elevator to take them to the courtrooms below. They encountered Lucius Malfoy who was in an intense hushed discussion with Cornelius Fudge.

‘I know the Osburnes were also suspected to be Death Eaters, but I assure you, it was all a ploy by Charles Dracwyn to save his own daughter. They were suppressed by fear. They are finally speaking up and we need to let the Wizengamot know that,’

‘Well, the Dracwyns were known to threaten families under them since centuries,’ Cornelius seemed to agree with Lucius but stopped before speaking further as the family in question passed by him with a distasteful gaze.

They walked quietly, not a whisper or exchange of glances between them, but inside each one of them, a turbulence brewed. All pleas to postpone the hearing had been denied and their key witness was indisposed. They could make no mistakes in the courtroom and everything depended on how Hawkworthe presented the case. As they strode along the vast corridors, the Great oak doors of the courtroom were opened for them by two guards clad in cerulean blue robes. An elongated hexagonal room with black and white geometrically patterned marble floor gleamed in the light from the lanterns that hung on tall black stone pillars. Being a closed hearing, the raised seats to one side of the chamber were devoid of public. The assigned trainee Aurors stood at their posts, Park Taemin among them. The Osburnes sat on the left side of the room with their lawyer. The Dracwyns passed them to take their seats on the right. Laura saw Gwen sitting with her hands folded, her body looking composed but her eyes were blazing. Laura shot her such a hateful look that Gwen averted her eyes, her confidence shaken for a moment. Her parents fidgeted slightly under the gaze of Charles Dracwyn.

The two families took their positions in front of the empty jury seats. The Wizengamot entered in a file, wearing plum coloured robes with a golden W embroidered on the chest. Finally the Chief Warlock - Albus Dumbledore entered with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and everyone rose till the two took their places.

Dumbledore took the dais. The white light from the skylight overhead made his blue robes appear almost silver. His long fingers settled on the worn wood in a familiar manner as he looked at all the people present in the court, half-moon glasses low on the tip of his nose.

‘We hereby start the trail of Miss Gwen Osburne against Mr. Yoongi Min and Miss Laura Dracwyn on grounds of aiding the Death Eaters in conspiring and invading Hogwarts, and for the physical and mental abuse inflicted on the complainant- Gwen Osburne. The charges of abuse include use of attack spells, resulting in internal and external injuries to the complainant, repeated threats and suppression by the defendants, and use of the Cruciatus Curse, an unforgivable curse by the defendants on the complainant. Miss Osburne please stand witness to your statements,’

Gwen poisely rose from her seat to take the witness stand in front of the jury. Her green eyes flared up to look at the Wizengamot, ‘I’m Gwen Osburne, a sixth year student at Hogwarts,’ she started with the mandatory introduction. ‘Laura and I had been very good friends since childhood. Studying together as roommates. But during our fourth year, I started to notice that something was changing in her behaviour. Maybe it was the influence of her cousin Min Yoongi who is known to have anger management problems,’

Laura saw Yoongi’s fist curl in anger.

‘And what evidence do you have to support this claim against Min Yoongi?’ Dumbledore asked.

Her lawyer, Vincent Clarke stood up, handing a record book to Dumbledore. ‘This is a record of Min Yoongi’s fifth year at Hogwarts where he served detention after setting fire in the Greenhouse,’

Hawkworthe stood up. ‘Chief Warlock may the details of that detention be presented as well,’

‘That will not be necessary,’ Dumbledore said, raising a hand and not bothering to even look into the record that Clarke handed him. ‘I am well aware of that incident. I know Mr. Min was not alone in serving detention and may it be made aware to the jury,’ Dumbledore turned slightly to let his eyes sweep over the Wizengamot members, ‘that the cause of fire could not be traced back to Min Yoongi.’

Gwen’s eyes flickered for a brief moment towards Dumbledore, and an inkling of fear crept up her spine, but when the lawyer urged her to continue, she did so. She tried to focus her mind on how Laura had never trusted her enough to share her secrets with her. Gwen was not important to her? She had been pushed aside, kept in the dark. How dare Laura turn her away? How dare she turn her back to the Dark Lord’s calling? Instead of aiding his cause, Laura and Yoongi were standing against him. But now Gwen would give the Dark Lord the greatest weapon he would ever need.

Gwen had seethed many a night before she had stumbled upon the answer, of how she could throw the imposter besmirching the noble Slytherin House. Laura Dracwyn deserved none of the power, importance, and attention that had been bestowed upon her. There had been a time, when Gwen would have grudgingly sworn off her existence to Laura, but now all she harbored in her heart was the festering jealousy that had brought her so far, to lie in front of another muggle-loving disgrace to wizardkind. Gwen would make sure to drag the entire Dracwyn House through the mud and expose their turncloak grandchildren to everyone. They should be ashamed of calling themselves noble pure bloods.

She composed her expression, schooled it to one of tearful remembrance as she recounted, ‘Fourth year onwards, Laura and Yoongi had begun to hurt me in earnest. If I didn't listen to them, they threatened to use the Cruciatus Curse on me.’ Gwen let a shudder press through her body, biting her lip to suppress a smile.

A collective gasp from the Wizengamot allowed her to regain the tremor in her voice, as she bit her lip harder to stop the laughter building in her throat. Gwen basked in the attention, the thrill of her lies being treated so seriously made her want to sing. ‘They treated some others in a similar way. No one ever said anything because we were extremely scared. We didn't have much support from our prefects and seniors either. Everyone was afraid of upsetting the grandchildren of Charles Dracwyn,’

The whispers and murmurs were sweet to her ears, she risked a sidelong glance at Laura and Yoongi, still regally sitting on their chairs and she wanted them to look at her, look at the power she had over them now.

‘And we have two more victims of this harrassment who have agreed to testify,’ Clarke said, gathering the general atmosphere of the Courtroom to be in favour of his client and deciding to bring the trial towards a speedy close. Charles Darcwyn reigned with fear… and the power that came with fear was always brittle. There were many in the jury who had no love for Charles Dracwyn or for the ones who would become the future of the Dracwyn legacy. They longed to see him uprooted from his seat of power and wealth. They only tolerated his proud behaviour and they would be happy to have a chance of not having to tolerate it anymore.

Clarke looked into the solemn and blue eyes of the Chief Warlock. Dumbledore nodded to let the witnesses in and the doors to the left opened. Jeffrey and Derreck entered with an Auror-in-training who’s hair was a shocking shade of bubblegum pink and an unsteady gait. She deposited the two in the witness stand and retreated to stand next to the other Aurors in training waiting at the far end of the room.

Dumbledore’s eyebrow quirked just the slightest. He remembered these two were trouble brewers. There had been a few times that the other prefects had complained to McGonagall about them. And now they’ve come to state they are victims? ‘Have either of you ever been subjected to bullying by Mister Min or Miss Dracwyn?’ He started the interrogation.

Both nodded. ‘They always ordered us around, like we were their house elves. If we broke any of their self-instated rules, they punished us,’ Derreck spoke, his eyes resting on Jeffery for encouragement.

‘Punished you how?’ A member of the jury asked, voice echoing in the cold, vast Courtroom.

‘Laura Dracwyn used the brain burning hex on me one night when I broke one of her rules. She considers the Shrieking Shack to be her property. Jeff and I just wanted to see the place but when she found us there, she got so angry that she hexed us both. The pain was unbearable, I thought I would die that night,’

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as the murmuring in the back picked up. The Shrieking Shack was haunted and no one had dared to set foot in the cursed place due to superstition, even during Hogsmeade visits, students are expressly told not to tread too close to the place. ‘Is this true Miss Dracwyn?’ Dumbledore asked her, cutting through the uneasy chatters within Court. Laura did not say anything for a while. Her fingers gripped the armrest tightly before they loosened, a passing sign of flashing anger that Yoongi noted.

‘It is not,’ she said in a cold tone but she remembered the night she had hexed them both for capturing Taehyung. But that was their first and foremost rule, to not mention Taehyung. It seemed like Gwen was trying her best to make them break that rule.

‘They have no admissible evidence,’ Hawkworthe said from his seat, trying to bring the attention away from Laura and unto himself.

Kim Hyunseok who was seated in the middle of the jury spoke in an angry voice, ‘Then are you suggesting that these children are lying, Mr. Hawkworthe?’

The person next to him, also took up the same point, ‘Yes. Why would you presume they have been lying? They are school children for Merlin’s sake, 14 year old boys,’

An explosion of assents and nods broke out amongst the members of the Wizengamot. But the voices carried over, the echoes reaching the waiting ears of those below.

‘But for a child to even mention the Cruciatus curse’

‘Isn’t Derreck Rosier a cousin of Laura Dracwyn? This must be serious for families to go against each other,’

Dumbledore lifted the gavel and brought it down once, ‘Order in the court,’ he declared. His attention now returned to the two Slytherin children in the witness stand.

A balding man with hair combed over the shining crown speaks up, ‘And what were you doing at the Shrieking Shack? If I am not mistaken it is still out of bounds to roam around Hogsmeade, is it not?’ he asked Laura, who pressed her lips together and makes no attempt to answer, her worst fear was unfolding in the courtroom.

Gwen rose out of her seat, pointing a finger at the two accused. ‘Of course she won’t open her mouth about what she used to do in the Shrieking Shack! It was her secret place, where she hid all the proof of her interactions with her aunt Bellatrix Lestrange,’

The entire courtroom ground into an abrupt silence and then all at once the accusations begin, overwhelmingly loud, shocked and indistinguishable from outrage and fear.

Charles Dracwyn’s eyes widened a moment. A hand went up to pick a loose thread that coiled around his cuff, his entire mind trained on the witness stand.

Clarke removed some papers from his briefcase and passed them around to the the jury.

‘These are letters,’ he announced loudly. ‘Letters from Bellatrix Lestrange to Laura Dracwyn, written in code. If you all can read ancient cipher runes, you would be able to understand the contents,’

‘I can read them,’ an old man with a cropped silver beard said. ‘This one talks something about obtaining the last element. They need it soon and it is instructed to Laura that she should try and obtain it,’

Kim Hyunseok took one of the letter and wore his spectacles to read it. ‘This one talks about their plan to attack Hogwarts to obtain this element. They have said to be prepared on the night of the harvest moon,’

The jury gasped and Yoongi exchanged a brief confused look with Laura. Hyunseok folded the letter and removed his spectacles.

‘That was indeed the night of the attack wasn’t it?’ he asked the rest of the jury who nodded.

‘These letters are fabrications,’ Hawkworthe said, going up to the jury to see one of them.

‘If you want you can have them checked against Bellatrix Lestrange’s handwriting records. I have no doubt they will be a 100% match,’ Clarke said confidently, handing over a letter to Hawkworthe who took it, clenching his teeth. The enemy was indeed a step ahead. If Bellatrix was aiding Gwen in this plan, these letters might very well be written by her.

‘My client found these letters in the Shrieking Shack a few days ago. She had a strong suspicion that Miss Dracwyn and Mister Yoongi might be aiding their aunt and it turned out to be true. So she risked her safety and looked for evidences. She knew no one would believe her without proof. But the jury refuses to recognize this threat even with solid proof!’ he held the letters up for all to see. ‘Do we really want two death eaters on the loose? Death Eaters aided by none other than the most dangerous one of all time! Bellatrix Lestrange!’

‘Of course not!’

‘This cannot be allowed to fester!’

Hawkworthe initially stunned, now stood and yelled over the noise, ‘Objection Chief Warlock!’ But it was out of his hands now, he could feel the slip, he could see the alarmed faces, the fear and the prejudice throwing the room into chaos. He was far too afraid to look into the eyes of his employer.

There were so many questions, exclamations and amidst the frazzled state of the court, the aurors in training had closed down to flank both sides of the witness stand.

Averil’s hands were squeezing each other in nervousness as Bellatrix’s name brought up the most unpleasant memories. She wondered what game this Osburne child was playing.

Charles Dracwyn gazed at his family, each of them tense inside, slowly losing composure on the outside, a sense of impending doom hanging over their heads. Laura was nearly straining to get out of her chair and strangle Gwen, but she had her nails cutting into her palm. Yoongi was like a canon waiting to explode, feet tensed and body rigid. Charles turned his eyes towards the girl in the middle of the problem again. He was still unsure of where exactly the source of the case was going, what could the Osburnes gain from the fall of the Dracwyns unless they had all decided to support Lord Kim’s ridiculous motives.

‘Why would Laura Dracwyn keep these letters?’ Madame Bones asked Gwen.

‘I have heard Laura talk in fascination of her aunt Bellatrix, of the Dark Arts and I thought it was only a passing admiration,’ Gwen said. ‘But after a few years passed, I realised Laura worships Lestrange. She finds her deeds to be great and marvelous. When the news of the torture of the Longbottoms reached us, I clearly remember how Laura laughed triumphantly, saying Bellatrix Lestrange was the true follower of the Dark Lord. She did not stop his work even when he was gone. Maybe this stems from her blood. You know of her mother and her father as well. They were Dea-’

Laura had swiftly got up from her chair, her hands outstretched as she turned to Gwen, her eyes blazing in anger when Taemin came to stand between them, holding her back.

‘Don’t you dare talk of them you crazy bitch. Don’t forget what your parents really are,’ Laura spat, voice quiet and only reaching the few people around her. Taemin could see the fury on her eyes, his palm burned as he restrained her. Laura wanted to yell out that it was Gwen who was the Death Eater here. Gwen and her two minions were the ones who tortured people, not the other way around. But held herself back, it could possibly expose Taehyung.

Gwen had stopped talking, fear in her eyes, but her lips twitched, her deluded mind thinking that now Laura felt the slip of power from her hands and it spurred Gwen.

‘Mr. Hawkworthe control your client!’ a jury member said.

‘We can already see she has anger issues,’ another member added and several heads nodded. A slight smirk creeped up on Kim Hyunseok’s face.

_Father…_

Jin watched his father’s smug expression from the audience stands. He felt like something was dying within him. Was this what his great father was resorting to do? Plot to throw two 17 year olds into jail so that he could finally end the rivalry and win? What kind of hollow victory would that be? He wanted to stop his father… but his father didn’t even listen to him when Jin talked to him face to face. How was he supposed to make his father understand anything when Jin was not even awake?

Dumbledore hit the gavel again, demanding order and silence. Laura sat back in her seat but her hateful gaze lingered on Gwen.

‘And what is this key that Bellatrix is supposedly talking about?’ Madam Bones asked.

Yoongi rose to his feet, his self control also starting to spill. ‘Those letters might be written by Lestrange but we have nothing to do with it! We have no idea what the contents talk about!’

‘Of course they know!’ Gwen said. ‘I was tortured twice by these two, because I came in between them and the key element!’

The fear was starting to show on the faces of two accused. Charles, Averil, Yeonjae and Hawkworthe all looked at the two with slightly confused eyes.

Clarke removed some more papers and this time handed them to Dumbledore.

‘These are Miss Osburne’s medical records. She spent weeks in St. Mungos and then was transferred to home rest for months, which delayed her return to Hogwarts in the beginning of this term.’

‘Miss Osburne suffered lacerations all over her body which were then tried to be covered up by the healing spells. But it was done hastily, which left her with blood loss and inefficient sealing of the flesh and she needed to seek medical help then. When Miss Osburne returned home in that state, it became apparent that she suffered damage to her brain and memories. It was only after months of healing that she could recollect her memories and tell her parents what had happened,’

‘Such crimes, are not something which require light treatment. My client lived under fear and threats from Mr. Min and Miss Dracwyn, for over 3 years. And then she was tortured, and wiped of her memories, leaving lasting damage. This needs severe punishment Chief Warlock!’

For the first time in the case, Dumbledore was silent for a while. Those medical records were not false. They were true to each word.

The jury had been casting glances at Dumbledore since the beginning of the case. He had been unusually quiet, not asking many questions and not citing his opinions. And Dumbledore was never this silent. Even now he was not saying a word.

‘Miss Gwen, why did the accused inflict all those hexes on you?’ Bones asked.

‘Because…’ she shuddered. ‘Because I had found their secret,’

Laura felt everything slipping from her grasp, as if the floor was sliding off her feet and she was being thrown into an abyss.

‘They had found the key. Its a student with strange powers… a boy,’

‘A student? With strange powers?’ The jury member asked aloud.

‘Yes… last year, at the end of term, Laura and Yoongi were helping the boy recognise his powers. It seemed to me like he had his powers sealed away. But they were luring him, urging him to break the seal. But they found me watching them and they beat me, tortured me, tried to wipe my memories of it,’

‘This is all lies!’ Laura roared but Dumbledore ordered her to stay quiet.

‘And this year, the incident that happened 2 days ago, it wasn’t Yoongi who froze the room. Rather it was Laura who set the fire. Perhaps she did that so that the boy would finally unleash his powers because it was the boy who froze the room!’

‘I was nowhere near that room!’ Laura cut in again to which Clarke produced a register which both Yoongi and Laura recognised as the Student Council records.

‘There was a prefect’s meet that night. But you’ve been marked absent. Where were you then?’

Laura regretted ever opening her mouth, ‘I… I was asleep in my room,’

‘Produce someone who can support that alibi and we’ll believe you Miss Dracwyn,’ Clarke’s lips pulled up in a slight smile. He knew her roommate was unconscious in the infirmary. He knew she had no help.

‘It seems like Miss Osburne and her lawyer are going off tangent here,’ Hawkworthe said. ‘These sound like some well rehearsed stories-’

‘Taehyung!’ Gwen’s voice cut through the court. ‘Ask for Kim Taehyung. He was their key, he has powers and silver hair! Silver hair, it’s a sign of his powers. You will understand then.’ Gwen looked straight up into Dumbledore’s eyes, and the urgent whispers started again.  _This filthy muggle lover will go down with the rest of them_ , she thought.  _I will be the greatest most celebrated follower of the Dark Lord._

Charles Dracwyn had stood up and a considerable silence fell over the crowd now, his hand rested on Laura’s shoulder giving slight pressure and Laura stood up straighter, making her way back to her seat.

‘Dumbledore, I expected that this incident would be dealt with in the school but here we are, sixty capable witches and wizards losing our minds because one delusional child claims that my grandchildren are part of a madman’s army.’ Charles’ lilac eyes swept over the gathering one by one, the immense displeasure at being subjected to a meaningless trial had him fuming on the inside, and he made sure everyone of the people present knew.

The air shifted in the room as Charles Dracwyn resumed his seat, and Dumbledore cleared his throat, ‘Lord Dracwyn, I understand your concerns, but rest assured we shall get to the truth of the matter soon. And as for the misconducts-’

A shrill old wizard from the corner piped up, ‘Misconduct!? Dumbledore, the least of the punishments is an immediate expulsion, but for the use of the unforgivable curse and for their involvement with a Death Eater, they ought to be sent to Azkaban. It is a capital offence.’

Averil swept off her chair and turned to the voice, ‘Are you suggesting that you will throw my children to the Dementors on these flimsy accusations? Is this how the Wizengamot proceeds to function?’

‘Perseus! You are getting ahead of yourself,’ Madame Bones added. ‘They are children, Azkaban is hardly the answer here!’.

‘They are hardly children!’ Perseus argued before being cut off as Dumbledore banged the gavel again on the podium.

‘As long as they remain at Hogwarts, Perseus, they are children. And may I suggest that the Wizengamot take a short recess ahead of time before the defendant has had their turn. I think everyone will find it rather refreshing,’ Dumbledore said.

* * *

‘What on earth is that girl talking about?’ Yeonjae bellowed. ‘How is Kim Taehyung involved in this case?’

‘She is speaking utter lies. She is trying to build a story on thin air,’ Yoongi said.

‘Yes, I think her brain is permanently damaged now because she’s speaking out her delusions as real facts. She is using Jin’s absence to her advantage and cooking up this ridiculous story,’ Laura said.

‘Hawkworthe, we are losing,’ impatience clear in Charles’ voice.

‘Gwen has a lot to stay but hardly any solid proof. We may still be able adjourn till I make a better case. Kim Hyunseok is not sanctioning my request to extend the court dates,’

‘Of course he won’t…’ Charles said quietly and walked out of the room, seeming quite annoyed.

Twenty minutes later, the Wizengamot had filed back into the court room, and found the atmosphere of the room a lot darker than when they had entered it last. Opinions had already been formed, while fact and fiction threatened no differences between them. The jury had already been divided into factions, with most hostility directed towards the Dracwyns. It was a biased crowd that sat in the raised stands looking down upon the case unfolding before them. Even though there were several fairer judges, they were outnumbered by the tiniest margin.

As Laura took her seat beside Yoongi she could feel it the silence pressing upon her from where Yoongi sat. She had no trouble reading his body language, there was anger and fear there. Yoongi was unhappy and Laura had no way of reaching out with words. She briefly clasped his hand and squeezed before withdrawing hastily.

Yoongi looked quickly to his side distracted but his face immediately assumed a guarded expression, face impassive, his expression a complete impregnable mask. He was still locked in some internal conflict that Laura wasn’t privy to and she felt nervous, because whenever he was in such a state Yoongi tended to become reckless. If it were anywhere else, Laura might not have minded it as much as she did now. Already there was the scent of victory emanating from Gwen and the uneasiness from Yoongi was creeping up her spine as well.

Her cousin was asked to take the stand and defend himself.

‘I swear I don’t know why this case came to a trial. I have already said everything I have had to say. I did not attack Gwen or bully her. All I did was perform my duty as a prefect. That’s all, professor.’ He said looking right into Dumbledore’s eyes, a rigid determination shining in them even if his words were careless.

Cornelius Fudge had his head bent whispering into the ear of the squat witch nearest to him, when Dumbledore resumed the trial. Hawkworthe took the reins of the case, trying to eliminate the circumstantial evidence that Clarke had built over the time, but Laura could see the distracted jury with only a few keenly listening and others with set faces as if they had already decided what to expect and her blood boiled.

‘If you see these reports we have gathered from the caretaker of the school, you will clearly see that Miss Osburne and the witnesses they have produced for the court have an association with the bullying of several muggle-born students, for which they have refused to attend the detention as per the rules of the school and it is only in these circumstances that the respondants have ever confronted the defendants. In no other circumstance would they have done so if not for the fact that they were bound responsible for the behaviour of their fellow Housemates under their responsibility as prefects.’

Hawkworthe walked slowly across the Wizengamot handing them the material he had collected over the a day in a hurry. The trial had the shortest response period for him as a lawyer and collecting the materials and evidence had been a herculean task what with the general hostility directed towards the students in question in general. He had had to use every persuasive technique he had known to extract the information, and he would not let it go to waste.

He paced again, back to the stands. ‘As for the allegation that my clients communicated with Bellatrix Lestrange, they are false. In fact, they were attacked during the ambush on Hogwarts last month. I have Madam Pomfrey for witness as that. She treated Min Yoongi’s wounds. Hence, I would humbly ask the jury to reconsider their views on the matter, as it is clearly a means to derail the true nature of the trial.’

The squat witch into whose ears Cornelius Fudge had been whispering leaned forward in her seat, a simpering cough falling from between her lips, ‘But Mr. Hawkworthe, correct me if I am mistaken, but wasn’t there a speculation that the cousins,’ she pointed to Laura and Yoongi sat on the chairs behind him, ‘had indeed helped the entry of the Death Eaters into Hogwarts the night of the attack?’

‘These allegations against the respondents are false. Madam Umbridge, may I move to update you that the prime suspect for aiding the Death Eaters is still Twycross, the ministry approved apparition instructor.’ Hawkworthe finished.

‘Twycross was a trusted man of the Ministry,’ Umbridge said. ‘He was put under the Imperius Curse,’

Gwen’s eyes twinkled, but she was getting tired of the focus on the Death Eaters, her goal was to expose Kim Taehyung so she could set her plan in motion, so she could separate him from the protection of his friends and his mother. They had kept him confined within himself, let his magnificent powers go to waste. And where an ability of this magnitude was involved there was sure to be plenty of fear and attention to surround it. Gwen was sure that she could persuade the ministry to seal him away in a safe place and the helpers of Bellatrix residing in the Ministry would take on the job from there. Once he was out from Dumbledore’s protection, taking him away would be a piece of cake.

‘If you don’t believe me, call Kim Taehyung to court and see for yourself what he has become! You will see for your own eyes!’ Gwen cried.

‘Well,’ Madam Umbridge said. ‘Since Miss Osburne is still strong on her statements, I think we should give her a fair chance,’

‘Yes,’ Perseus agreed. ‘We should see this Kim Taehyung for ourselves before dismissing her,’

‘May an official warrant be issued to bring him to court,’ another member added.

Yoongi and Laura tried their best to conceal the utter horror they were feeling. What were they going to do now? Under no circumstances should Taehyung come to court. Would he need to flee now? The two cousins might flee as well, since the Ministry will now have stronger suspicion on them if Taehyung’s case looks out of the ordinary.

Jin studied all the faces silently, his heart feeling heavier at what the case had grown into. All their worst fears were coming true. It was like they were up against one crashing wave after another and their mere small bodies had no force in them to stop these waves from drowning them into the deep abyss.

Gwen was almost smirking now. Everything was going perfect.

‘The Wizengamot wants to waste time interrogating a 14 year old?’ Yoongi faked disbelief. ‘Ask Professor Dumbledore yourself, he’ll tell you, that Kim Taehyung is not even a bright student, let alone wield some kind of unnatural powers,’

‘Well if you are so sure of it Mister Min then why do you have a problem in bringing him to court?’ Clarke questioned him. ‘Does he mean anything to you?’

‘I only want to end this meaningless case and return to school. Gwen is just finding ways of stretching it with her implausible stories,’ Yoongi gave him an impatient look.

The great oak doors to the Court room opened as 2 people entered. Yoongi turned with the rest to look at the new additions and his eyes widened seeing Jung Hoseok with Hawkworthe’s assistant lawyer. He looked like hell, neck in a loose bandage and wrist in a splint, face tired, but he had made it nonetheless. Yoongi’s chest twisted with a torrent of emotions. Seeing Hoseok in this state tore at his insides but he couldn’t stop gratitude from overfilling his heart. Despite it all, Hoseok had made it to try and save them.

The Wizengamot gawked at the sudden unannounced entrance of this student, bandaged and injured, looking around the Court with a hint of nervous energy as all the eyeballs in the room turned to regard his appearance.

‘What’s this. . ’ Cornelius jumped in his seat, as Umbridge next to him clasped her arms over her ugly pink cardigan.

Hoseok looked confused. There hadn’t been much time for a proper briefing.

Hawkworthe immediately went towards the woman leading them in, and took over from there. His assistant nodded to him and went to take a seat behind the Dracwyns. Hawkworthe spoke to Dumbledore, ‘Here is the witness to refute Ms. Gwen Osburne’s allegations about what happened 2 days ago in Hogwarts. I had assumed he would be indisposed to appear in court due to the obvious nature of his injuries, but he has made it through. If it please the Wizengamot, I move to have him take the witness stand to make his statement.’

‘The witness has been deemed admissible. Court will resume order.’ His gavel went down again.

Hawkworthe spent a brief minute whispering to Hoseok on Court procedures before they were called to give their testimonies.

As instructed, he began with his name and designation, ‘I am Jung Hoseok, 6th year student, prefect of Hufflepuff house. I have known both Yoongi and Laura for quite some time, while they may be authoritative as a prefect is supposed to be, I have never seen them be unreas- . . . um I have never seen them bully Gwen Osburne.’ He finished, fists clenched as they rested on his knees arms loose. He ignored the stinging burn in his still healing wrist so he could focus on the words he was supposed to speak. The medication had him feeling slightly drowsy and he had trouble focusing.

‘Jung? Does your father work in the Department of Mysteries?’ A witch in a pointed hat and greying hair asked, curious.

‘Yes, he does.’ Hoseok replied trying to smile. He thought nothing of the whispers behind hands and waited to receive further questions, wrist still causing discomfort.

‘And you were attacked that night by Howard Jenkins when the Death Eaters broke into Hogwarts on the 8th of September?’

‘Yes…’ Hoseok said, remembering that dreadful night. Only terrible memories circulated in his head at this point.

Noticing the slight adjustments Hoseok made to the bandages, the witch asked, ‘Why are you injured? Was this a result of the incident that transpired 2 days ago?’

Slightly frazzled, Hoseok shook his head, ‘No, it was ah- the Devil’s Snare in Green House 3, there was an accident.’ He shrugged after speaking, hand yet again adjusting the bandages to sit just right.

‘I didn’t assume the Devil’s Snare could cause extensive and specific damage such as you have sustained.’ Madame Bones murmured, fixing her monocle clearly as she went over the injuries and she could swear the damage on his face could not have been inflicted by a plant that preferred to slowly squeeze the life out of its struggling victims. His specific injuries around the neck and wrist, the bruising on his face, all seemed to indicate an infraction with another person. It didn’t look like an accident. But the witch let the matter slide for the time being. She continued, ‘Could you tell us exactly what happened the night of the incident?’

‘Yes, we had a prefect meeting, regarding the Ashwinder fire that had broken out in the Great Hall some days ago. The Head Girl instructed us to start an official investigation and find out who brought an Ashwinder inside the castle. It was late by the time the meeting got done. I and Yoongi were heading back from the student council room on the 5th floor, back to the ground floor, to our common rooms when we heard some disturbance on the 4th floor. So we headed to check it. We...,’ Hoseok swallowed thickly. This is where the lies began, the lies to hide Taehyung. ‘We saw an Ashwinder go into one of the rooms on the 4th floor so we followed it. We saw Gwen Osburne in the room where the Ashwinder had entered. She had many frozen eggs with her, but seeing us there startled her. She had been caught harbouring flammable creatures. And she instantly attacked us with spells and even set the Ashwinder and it’s eggs on fire. I was almost passing out with the heat but Yoongi managed to freeze the room somehow and put out all the fire,’

‘There was no one else in that room with you three? A boy named Kim was not there?’ Bones asked.

‘Kim Taehyung?’ Hoseok laughed nervously. ‘What does he have to do with any of this? He was nowhere near the scene. He is in my house, my junior. He doesn’t even interact with the Slytherins. Why do you mention him?’

Clarke was given to cross interrogate the witnesses, ‘Mister Jung we have another eyewitness report stating that you and Min Yoongi were involved in major physical altercation and repeatedly mentioned how he wouldn’t, and I quote, ‘get away with it’ over the past five years at Hogwarts. Isn’t it common knowledge that you are not on good terms with each other?’

Hoseok turned his head towards Yoongi, and paused for a few moments. Yes they hadn’t begun on good terms. Yoongi was an insufferable, obnoxious prick but Yoongi was brave and caring in ways the Wizengamot will never understand. ‘I mean… I and Yoongi weren’t the best of friends in our junior years and sometimes we argued, but that’s all in the past. We are good friends now,’

Gwen couldn’t contain herself anymore, ‘That is a LIE. Yoongi attacked me, he used the cruciatus curse on me. I don’t know why Jung Hoseok is twisting the truth for them. But it is possible that he wasn’t himself that day, so you can hardly take him seriously.’

Hearing the insistent voice of Gwen broke Yoongi out of his reverie, a frown crossed his forehead. Hoseok was already in a state of nervous anxiety and hearing those words brought back the terrible things he had no control over. His hands were beginning to sweat and he tried to discreetly wipe them on his pants.

Clarke spoke on her behalf, taking half a second to pick out a paper, he had already kept it with him in case Hoseok’s testimony for Gwen turned sour, but now he had an advantage over the witness. ‘These are the medical records for the mental health of Jung Hoseok. It is a record of the erractic hallucinations and mood swings that he suffers. There is also a prescription of pills he must take in order to curb his symptoms. Now it is not known if Mr. Jung was on the pills that day or not, but witnesses displaying these symptoms cannot be considered uncompromised. Hence, I insist the court treat him as a hostile witness.’

The unrest in the Jury redoubled at the pronouncement.

‘-he looks sane-’

‘Mental? Madness, you say-’

‘He doesn’t look very well even now.’

‘…perhaps he hallucinated the events. . .’

‘Is he allowed to witness, in this state?’

Hawkworthe jumped to his feet, eyes running between the witness and the Chief Wizengamot wondering if Dumbledore would ask for order in the court. When he didn’t, Hawkworthe asked for a reprieve for the witness which was denied as the court took in the new information.

Hoseok tried to explain it, he really did even though his confidence lowered each time he saw one of the jurors move their lips asking him probing questions. He tried to answer every one of them but his voice was slowing, the answers becoming more and more desperate as he tried to make them understand the exact nature of his mental condition. ‘No… It’s not a permanent condition. . . ’, ‘The pills are only to suppress the headaches’ , ‘.. I didn’t hallucinate!’ The questions were melding into one as he watched only their mouths move, the edges of his vision nearly blurring as the desperation and fear tight in his chest gave way to frustration.

He swallowed several times, his throat dry. The possibility that he would blurt out the aggressive nature of his most recent episode haunted him, stuck in the back of his mind ever since Clarke had come to see him in his recovery room. His fingers fisted over the top of his knees, he let his neck fall forward unable to take the barrage of noise exchange that was happening.

Yoongi’s eyes darted from Hoseok to the jury and anger was rising within him. By some miracle, Hoseok had come to support them. Meanwhile these ‘respected and honoured’ members of the Wizengamot picked on his weaknesses. Jin was feeling the unrest rise in him as he watched his friend being scrutinized by the jury. He felt the tears rise in him and the uncontrollable urge to just stand there and hug Hoseok, shielding him from all these cruel eyes and questions poking at Hoseok’s insecurities. But he couldn’t… he couldn’t do anything at all, like he was a mute, lifeless puppet. He wanted to curse his seeing abilities.

Perseus and Umbridge were locked in a whispered argument whose contents only Cornelius was aware of. They broke off their discussion and Fudge raised his neck so he could peer down at the witness stand, ‘Young man, are you sure your mental condition was sound on the day you saw the fire and ice covered Hall? It wasn’t a part of your hallucination?’

Hoseok knew that condescending tone, the implications flickering through every word, fists clenched and face twisted in anger, he tried to focus on the present even as his anxiety clawed at the words that he tried to say ‘I did not hallucinate that day.’

But his statement did not eliminate the doubts in the Wizengamot’s mind and the murmuring continued and Hoseok was feeling more flustered and suffocated. Seeing him like that made Yoongi lose his cool.

‘Minister, all of the witnesses described the same incident to you. Do you think all of us ‘hallucinated’ as you put it? This isn’t going anywhere. Osburne is playing all of you to her delusional tune. She is the one hallucinating things that didn’t happen.’ Yoongi snapped, finishing with an accusing finger pointed to the said person. ‘And you all sit and prode on this guy who had nothing to do with it! Asking him irrelevant questions. Is that what the Wizengamot is?’

‘Mister Yoongi!’ Umbridge looked appalled. ‘How dare you question the procedures and methods of the Wizengamot? We are only doing what is necessary!’

Gwen saw her opening. Her eyes wide, face twisted to the side in extreme contempt, voice breaking in frustration she cried, appealing to the jury sitting up in their half-shadowed seats. ‘Yoongi and Laura have hidden Kim Taehyung and they will use him to gain favour with Bellatrix. This is their plan. And Hoseok? He is hardly a valid witness, he isn’t in the best mental condition. It would hardly be difficult for these snakes to manipulate him. They probably learnt it at their parents’ knees. Black blood runs through them and they will never escape it. Even after her mother and father died, Laura hasn’t changed her ways! They are all Death Eaters! They-’

Hardly had Gwen completed the sentence, she felt a hand on the back of her neck, and the next thing she knew she had been shielded by the Auror next to her. She turned her eyes to the side and saw a knot of people holding Yoongi back who had a feral look on his face, teeth sneering and all the heat in Gwen’s body fled when she saw the sight.

The Aurors holding Yoongi back realized he was not struggling after the initial incredible speed he had stood up and almost lunged at Gwen, the aurors hardly even aware of his movement, they had pushed Gwen down to safety and Taemin held Yoongi back by the arms. She could feel the anger and the harsh words spewing out of his mouth were acidic, burning the jury as he shamed them for allowing ‘such scum’ to speak whatever she willed to. He was pulsating in anger, all the fight concentrated inside him as he completely stood stock still. Taemin pulled him well away from Gwen.

Laura watched the scene unfold with horror, Taemin was taking her cousin away and Dumbledore was gesticulating to Fudge who was equally upset and she couldn’t hear anything. Because she had been in burning anger when Gwen had spoken, now all she felt was confusion and her gut told her that whatever little favour they had gained in the case was now all lost. The Court blurred for just a moment when Averil demanded they unhand her son, Laura felt tears well up. They were standing on the edge of her vision, angry and hot as she tried to collect what exactly had happened. Had her cousin, her brother just thrown himself into a trap so they could save Taehyung? So that Laura could carry her mother’s friendship and her promise of protection from beyond the grave.  _What have I done?_

As Dumbledore brought the gavel down, calling the Court to order, Fudge bristled and Lord Kim had a smirk of self-satisfaction on his square face. Madame Bones looked concerned and Perseus glowed. Instead of Dumbledore whose lips were pressed in a straight line, Umbridge spoke, a small cough left her throat, ‘Hem hem. As witnessed by the Court, Min Yoongi and Laura Dracwyn seem to be having immense temperamental issues. Mister Min has also repeatedly spoken to the Wizengamot in a disrespectful manner. It is also unsure if the witness to Min Yoongi, one Mr. Jung Hoseok is in fact witness to the incident based on his medical mental history. As of now the Court moves to detain Min Yoongi and Laura Dracwyn within their home on House Arrest.’

Charles Dracwyn’s eyes lingered on Lord Kim, the smug, handsome man sat back leaning on his seat, picture of contentment. He turned to his grandson.

‘What a shame, Yoongi. We could have prevented all this had you only held your temper in,’ Charles spoke, disappointment written on every line of his face.

Yoongi didn’t meet his grandfather’s eyes, ‘We weren’t winning there. It was a trap for all of us, I just chose to cut my losses early,’ He licked his lips slowly, a sign of him saying something he really didn’t find pleasure saying but had to anyway, ‘How could I sit back and watch while she talked of Aunt Amelia like that? I didn’t want Laura to hear any more of that fucking spiel.’  _And for them to attack Hoseok with their knife like words._

Charles looked at his grandson’s face for a long time, an unreadable expression on his face, and then he slowly looked away, standing up to leave the courtroom. The rest of the Wizengamot was filing out too.

‘I want to see him!’

Yoongi heard a mild commotion in front of him and looked up to see two Aurors blocking someone’s way.

‘You can’t deny me speaking to him, that’s not the law,’

It was Hoseok, trying to make his way towards the Min-Dracwyns. Taemin called to the trainee Aurors blocking Hoseok, reminding them that the boy was right. The aurors moved and Hoseok stumbled forward, coming to Yoongi, who’s lilac eyes held him with utmost worry.

‘How are you? Are you in pain?’ Yoongi’s eyes scanned Hoseok’s face.

Hoseok blinked in slight disbelief. He did not think Yoongi would be enquiring about his health over worrying about the case.

‘I’m sorry Yoongi,’ Hoseok’s head hung low. ‘I… I tried my best, it wasn’t enough. The jury-’

‘Hey,’ Yoongi kept a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder, gentle and warm. ‘Don’t you blame yourself even once, you did more than we could ever ask for,’

Hoseok’s eyes slowly lifted to look into Yoongi’s. He could see himself reflected in them and the Hufflepuff only gazed in wonder, ‘But… the jury…’

‘That’s not your fault. And we’ll find a way around it,’ Yoongi said.  _We must… we must find a way or this will be the last time I’m seeing you._

To his surprise, Hoseok bent forward, his good arm wrapping around Yoongi’s back and chin resting on his shoulder. ‘Thank you… for protecting Tae. Find a way, and come back,’ Hoseok’s voice was an earnest whisper in Yoongi’s ear and at that moment, Yoongi tried with all his might to not let his eyes well up. He blinked and lightly hugged Hoseok back, nodding silently and the Hufflepuff broke away to look at Yoongi once before departing. He did not miss the slight glisten in those lilac eyes.

*

The Min-Dracwyns were taken back to the Dracwyn Mansion with appointed Aurors accompanying them. The anti-travel bands were placed around the cousin’s right wrists, to prevent them from apparating, using a portkey or the floo network. The moment they reached home, Charles Dracwyn did not waste a moment. They had one more day to prepare for the next trial and this time, Charles would do anything and everything in his power to find and even create evidence and witnesses so that his family is saved.

‘So,’ he asked the two as he wrote a letter sitting in his grey marbled work room. ‘What is your relationship with this boy Kim Taehyung?’

Laura’s face became guarded. ‘There is nothing. We barely know him. He’s a half blood who-’

Charles looked up sternly at her from his letter, as if he knew she was lying. ‘Laura, I know Amelia had some connection with his mother,’

‘What?’ Laura feigned. ‘Our mothers? I don’t-’

‘You can lie to the world but not to me. I know you worry about that boy. Which only means there must be some truth to what that Osburne girl is saying,’

‘It is not true!’ she cried.

‘Well, it will be cleared when Kim Taehyung comes to court,’

‘No! He doesn’t need to come to court! He is innocent!’

‘If he is innocent, then what is the harm? Let him come and clear his name. Your resistance only shows that he is not innocent. Am I right Yoongi?’

Yoongi silently looked at his grandfather. He knew he had caught them now.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Hear Me Roar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvLlt6EKzfs&ab_channel=GameofThronesDDL) _

‘If it is true, it might not be the worst thing. I will tell Hawkworthe to prepare a case where the focus shifts on that boy instead of you two. Meanwhile he will find a way to show that you two are innocent. And Laura, you will play witness and testify that boy is dangerous. That can act as a positive point in our case. Let the Ministry deal with whatever Osburne is up to with that boy,’

‘No,’ Laura shook her head. ‘There has to be another way. I will not go on the stands,’ There was a bite to Laura’s words that was previously not there.

Charles raised his balding head to look Laura in the eye, ‘When you were 9 years old, the Aurors were at our doors, ready to arrest every member of this family and put you under foster custody. Everything I did back then was to protect you and it cost me dearly. We are not surrounded by blind fools, we are surrounded by enemies, who have wanted to tear us down for centuries. You saw it in court! From Fudge’s men to Kim’s,’

‘You did all that out of fear of the Death Eaters and to keep your own pride as a pure blood Slytherin,’

Yoongi whispered in cautiously, ‘Laura, stop,’

But she ignored him in her rage. ‘Protecting me was the excuse you gave everyone,’ her lips were curling back over her teeth in loathing.

Her words were testing Charles’ patience. ‘Do you understand that you and your brother face expulsion if you don’t testify?’ Her grandfather’s hooded lilac eyes bore into hers. ‘You have no choice in this. You will do as you are told. You and Yoongi are the future of the Dracwyn family and I need you both safe. That is my only concern,’ He sealed the letter and walked past her, heading towards the door.

‘I will not do it!’ her voice was shrill, tinged with anger and fear. Charles stopped, his fists and jaws clenching. He turned towards her, the stoic face slowly losing composure.

‘You are sacrificing your own family,’ his voice rose with each word, ‘for the sake of that mudblood boy?'

‘The Ministry and the Death Eaters will dig their claws into him and fight over him until they tear him apart. They will put him in Azkaban for killing his father, saying he's an Obscurus. They don't understand-’

Charles interrupted her, holding his hand up, anger fuming off his skin, ‘Remember one thing Laura, if any harm comes to anyone in this family because of you, you will be dead to me,’

Laura’s eyelids dropped, a sadness filled her that she couldn’t make her own Grandfather understand. She looked up again to look at Charles one last time. Her eyes were slightly glistening.

‘Didn’t expect anything more from you,’ she said and walked out of the room.

Yoongi watched her go and then turned back to his Grandfather.

‘And?’ Charles asked of him, ‘What do you have to say? Will you go on the stands then and testify against Kim Taehyung?’

‘You have built this house of lies but have not realized how brittle it has become,’ Yoongi said. ‘There is no point, trying to keep saving yourself and letting others drown. This is why there was no one to save Aunt Amelia when she needed it the most. If you throw a 14 year old boy to the Dementors to save your family name, you’re no better than the Death Eaters,’

Charles’ eyes flared at his grandson but the boy showed no shred of fear or regret. He turned away and walked out to find his cousin.

Laura was in her room, sitting on the chair of her dresser as a tear drop fell on the back of her hand which was clutching tight on her purple robes. A silent sob escaped her throats and she blinked repeatedly, taking a deep breath to rein her emotions in. What was she supposed to do? Let herself and Yoongi go to jail to keep Taehyung safe. She knew that's what her mother was ready to do, and that reason was enough for her to want to do the same. But she couldn't drag Yoongi into it. He had his own life to live, without having to be tied to what his cousin wanted to do.

But what was the right thing to do here? Take all the blame for herself and let Gwen win? The thought of that riled up with so much anger. No, she wanted Gwen defeated. She wanted her pushed to the ground and destroyed to such an extent that she will never be able to put the pieces of herself back together. And she wanted Yoongi safe. She wanted Taehyung safe. It all seemed to much to ask for.

She ran a hand through her hair, wiping her cheeks of the tear stains but her eyes wouldn't stop welling up. She heard light footsteps approach her and her eyes looked to her side to see Yoongi place a hand on her head.

‘We will do what your mother would've wanted,’ he said.

‘How are we going to do it? There’s no way out,’ she said, eyes looking at the objects on her dressing table. The white ornate platform was set with photographs of her childhood, her family and friends. One had her pet cat sleeping with Yoongi, the one time the calico feline had agreed to be at peace with her cousin. There was another photograph of her and Vanessa at the latter’s beach house when they were 4 years old and seen starfishes for the first time. Both their mothers were with them. The last tall frame had a photo of her mother and father before Laura was born. They were sitting at an outdoor dinner table with string lights hanging on top of them, forming a roof of stars. They were holding hands and smiling.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Two Swords](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AViJIXo5Kbg&ab_channel=TheGringoMedia) _

She gazed over the antiquities on her dresser, eyes finally resting on the silver vase with tall purple Liatris flowers. Her hand stretched out to touch them when she felt the reflection in the mirror shift.

‘Laura?’ Yoongi’s cautious voice reached her. Her eyes found her cousin’s in the mirror and even he looked perplexed. ‘Did you see something move?’

Startled she looked hard into the mirror and froze. A dark haired, broad shouldered man stood behind them. If they had seen a stranger, they would've whipped out their wands by now, but this wasn't a stranger. The presence of Kim Seokjin in Laura’s room shocked them so much that they couldn't even move. Jin was looking at their reflection, and slowly moved closer to. Yoongi turned back to speak to him but his eyes met the dead tapestry wall of the bedroom. He snapped his head back in front and saw Jin in the mirror again. But he wasn't in the room… how could he be? Jin was in comatose… but somehow he was here too?

Looking at him through the mirror, Yoongi stretched out his hand to touch the reflective surface. He couldn't feel anything but the cold smooth glass. Jin was beside them now, standing right next to Yoongi. His eyes were staring into the mirror as if he could see something in it.

‘Jin?’ Yoongi called. Jin slowly turned to him, meaning he could hear him.

‘Jin, we need you, please wake up!’ Yoongi pleaded.

‘You can't see anything in the mirror?’ Jin asked. His voice was like an echo in their head. Yoongi nodded that he couldn't.

‘What do you see?’ Laura asked him.

Jin turned back to look into the mirror, eyebrows narrowed.

‘The infirmary,’ he said. ‘I see the infirmary,’ His hand stretched to touch the mirror and the moment he did, he disappeared from Yoongi and Laura’s vision.

Jin’s eyes snapped open and he was staring at the infirmary ceiling again. Breath came into him like he had just come out of a vacuum and he gasped. At once he felt someone hold him and the familiar voice of his best friend reached his ears.

‘Jin!’ Namjoon held his shoulder. ‘Oh thank god… thank god you woke up,’ Namjoon sat on the edge of the bed and hugged him tight. ‘Tell me you are ok,’

Jin couldn't speak immediately. He felt like he had been running non stop the whole day, like he had consumed all his energy. His eyes looked around the infirmary, taking in his surroundings.

‘It's okay,’ Jin stroked the back of Namjoon’s head. ‘I'm awake now,’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK WHO FINALLY WOKE UP! ABOUT TIME!
> 
> I never expected writing a court case would be this difficult. This piece of music really helped me form the scenes for the first 5 chapters, especially with TaeJin's state of mind. Its lyrical so I haven't included it as mood music. Goddess Amy Lee at perfection yet again > [Bring Me To Life Synthesis Version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWFnlfDpnLE&ab_channel=Evanescence)


	4. Wizengamot II - A Tower of Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Min-Dracwyn vs Osburne trial proceeds to it's second day. Taehyung has been ordered to come to court but will he be able to present himself? 
> 
> Meanwhile Jin, Namjoon and Jungkook still try their best to find some evidence against Gwen. But they don't have much time on their hands as Jin's father pushes for a speedy verdict from the Wizengamot, hoping to put his arch nemesis - the Min-Dracwyns behind bars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM LATE, I know, but I hope you enjoy reading this!
> 
> **Incase you are confused with the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[BTS V - Stigma (Jorge Mendez Cover)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCWbmNZuaaI&ab_channel=JMendezMusic) _

The overwhelming thoughts engulf Taehyung, closing over his head like a deep still pool he intentionally fell into. The water slipped over his head, refusing to let him speak, it muted him deciding to punish him in silence, and the liquid was both comforting and smothering as he twisted in the deep, dark, devastatingly wide pool trying to absolve his sins. There is guilt but there is also freedom, and he has to choose. He could forgive himself of all his unnaturalness blaming it on his ignorance stating it as an accident, but that made him worry about the occurrence of other accidents where he might harm more people. True, Taehyung had hardly known his father. He had only wanted to protect his mother. But that in no way excused his actions, he still killed a person, a life, and it devastated him beyond mere words.

But there was also another kind of guilt. He felt it pulling him in deeper into the water. He was making so many of his friends hurt for him, the coward in him had chosen to abandon the truth and embrace the lie.

He was afraid of being alone, of being a stigma. In his head the little niggling voice of doubt kept reminding him how he was a danger to the rest of his friends and would be ostracised, stigmatised, and that was the one thought that Taehyung was terrified of. He would always be a disgrace, a sinner, a  _murderer_ and that thought made him sick.

The tears fell as Taehyung sobbed, screaming silent apologies, with the water still a vice around him, and nobody heard him. Not when they could not understand what he was trying to say, not when there was no one to listen, not when he could not reach out at all.

_‘Tae? Taehyung-ah?’_

_‘TaeTae! Kim Taehyung!’_

_‘Taehyungie! TAEHYUNG!!!!!’_

_‘Taehyung! Where are you?’_

_‘KIM TAEHYUNG, COME BACK!’_

The voices, had phased in and out of his hearing these two days, occasionally lifting the deep silence under the water. And now he heard another familiar voice which startled him. Taehyung finally opened his eyes and put his head up, breaking the surface of the water with a gasp, his silver hair plastered to his face, blue eyes searching and he saw Dumbledore standing at the edge of the water, eyes fully fixed on him.

Mouth still open in a gasp, Taehyung’s eyes widened. He wasn’t able to speak for a while but Dumbledore’s eyes were soft. He finally found his voice. ‘Were you calling my name?’

He walked out of the water, stepping carefully to reach the shore. He kept walking as Dumbledore kept moving away.

‘Wait!’ he called out, trying to catch up but the more he reached his hand out the farther the shore seemed to be. Taehyung wasn’t ready to come out of the water yet. He clenched his fists the water still running down in rivulets down his back, but no matter how much water he would try to drown in, Taehyung would never be absolved of what he had done and what he was: a sinner.

‘You must forgive yourself, Taehyung.’ Dumbledore had turned to him again speaking with his beard moving. ‘It’s time to go home,’

And Taehyung felt like it had begun to rain.

The rain felt good, falling slowly on his face, a melody making everything seem like andante. In the gentle rain, Taehyung kept hearing an echo of his name. Dumbledore was still waiting for him patiently, but Taehyung’s eyes were closed as the drops landed on his face. He wanted to stay in the rain a little longer. He lifted his hand and felt the raindrops falling on his skin, afraid to look because  _what if they freeze again_. He is afraid of himself, he is afraid because he likes this thrill of power running through him a bit too much.

**_Infirmary_ **

Namjoon had been reading the correspondence from the past two days, his hands clutching a variety of letters. There were letters from the Min-Dracwyn lawyer, as well as Jin’s father. Namjoon hadn’t opened the latter one but gone through all of Hawkworthe’s letters, requesting Jin’s urgent presence as a character witness. But the minute he had seen Jin awaken though, all was forgotten, thrown aside in favour of holding Jin, feeling him breathe, feeling the affection leak out of him into the soft marble skin that now looked alive. Jin’s eyes were unfocused and Namjoon knew the exact moment they focused on him, because Jin’s lips were trying to smile.

Jin had hurriedly got off his bed, an urgency beckoning him and promptly his legs tangled in the sheets.

‘I need to speak to my father,’ he said to Namjoon, voice hoarse with unuse.

‘Hold on Jin, you need to stay calm right now,’ Namjoon tried to hold him. Jin was sweating, his cheeks still pale.

‘Gwen has told the court about Taehyung,’ Jin was shaking. ‘We need Jungkook right now! He's the only one who can talk to Tae,’

‘Wait… were you there? In the courtroom?’ Namjoon asked and Jin nodded. The older suddenly felt weak in his knees and was falling back. Namjoon held him and made him sit on the bed.

‘Jinnie, you haven’t eaten since 3 days. Madam Pomfrey needs to check you up before you can start moving around,’ Namjoon said, as his long fingers wiped Jin’s sweat away gently.

‘But-’

‘No, I can’t let you throw your health away like this. You need to get stronger, you know we all need you,’

Jin knew what Namjoon said was right. He needed to keep himself on his feet for the next twenty four hours at least. He relaxed against the headboard and Namjoon sat back on his stool, reaching for all the letters he had scattered.

Namjoon called for a nurse and she was there within a minute. He knew he was being stupid, but he couldn't help it, ‘Missed me!?’ Namjoon asked after a nurse checked the vitals on Jin and made sure he was hydrated.

Jin rolled his eyes good naturedly with a shy smile while the nurse gave him a thorough check up fussing with the blankets and bringing Jin some simple foods to nibble on (handing Namjoon a cup of hot cocoa in the process, ‘drink it while it's warm!’)

‘I ought to clear out all these gifts isn’t it?’ the nurse looked around the bed. Every side table around Jin’s bed was occupied with flowers and gifts, courtesy of Jessica Simpson and a few (many) others, including unknown admirers.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll clear them out,’ Namjoon said.

‘You really are a loved lad aren’t you boy,’ the nurse said kindly, patting Jin’s brown hair. ‘I will go tell Dumbledore you are awake. Well, he is away at the Ministry right now, I should send him an owl. He was extremely worried about you. Finish all your food and take the energising draught dear,’ she whispered because Ash was still asleep on the other side of the infirmary with Jimin in the other bed. She turned to Namjoon, nodded and left in a bustle.

Namjoon patiently watched her leave, and then turned to Jin. ‘Jessica has been pestering me about what happened to you. She and her friends have been quite… restless and worried. The nurse had to put out a notice banning all students from wandering on this corridor,’ he shook his head. ‘But let’s forget that. What all did you  _see_?’ He asked cautiously.

‘I was with Tae in the Forest. He is safe for now. Safe.. but he is hurting Namjoon. He feels anger and guilt and that is turning into self hate. You know how dangerous that is. We need to find him!’

‘We will…’ Namjoon held one of his hands and gave him an assuring smile. ‘You know what happened in the trial?

‘Yes...I was in the courtroom throughout the whole trial for today. Gwen has manipulated the jury. She has Lucius Malfoy on her side and in turn, he’s fed the ears of Fudge and all those who work under him. It doesn’t seem good. To add to that…’ Jin gulped, ‘My father. He’s… he’s on her side as well, just so that the Min-Dracwyns would fall,’

Namjoon could see the look of hurtful disappointment on Jin’s face. He squeezed Jin’s hand once more before bringing his own hand to gently move Jin’s hair out of his eyes.

‘We… we need character witnesses for Yoongi and Laura,’ said Jin, slightly leaning into Namjoon’s fingers on the side of his face. His touch was comforting as always, grounding him to the world.

‘What about Vorhart?’ Namjoon asked, thumb running over Jin’s cheek.

Jin looked to the other side of the infirmary, seeing Jimin asleep on the chair next to her. He shook his head to clear the violent images that his Vision brought him. He had seen the last moments of the fight between her and Hoseok. He held himself still as he replied to Namjoon’s question.

‘If she was well enough, it was worth the trouble. But the jury is not going to regard her opinions about her roommate with utmost authenticity. They are in no mood to trust a Dracwyn’s friend,’ Jin frowned, the various events of the past few days slotting and curving into place in his mind. He remembered Hoseok, ‘They tore apart Hoseok’s statements. They brought in his mental condition and that took away whatever confidence Hoseok had mustered up,’

Namjoon sighed. He pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck for a moment in thought as he sat working through all the details of the case. The pills, the witness statements, the repercussions were far and wide, he realised. Slouching over his chair, he rubbed his eyes to focus on the latest information Jungkook had collected for them. So far with Hoseok's awful court experience and the Min-Dracwyn’s lawyer breathing down their necks for the whereabouts of Jin and Tae, Namjoon had been having a tough time. He had had to piece together the lies they would inevitably need to make up, so that the case could even be considered remotely plausible.

‘Hoseok was most probably drugged,’ Namjoon said. ‘Jungkook suspects Gwen has juniors working for her,’ he sighed.

‘There’s another thing,’ Jin swallowed thickly. ‘Gwen opened her mouth about Taehyung. The Wizengamot has ordered that he come to court,’

Namjoon looked at Jin wide eyed.

‘I don’t know how we are going to get out of that Joon,’ Jin shook his head. ‘They want to see him,’

Namjoon thought for a few moments, bottom lip between his teeth, ‘But Jin… being an Elkyre is not illegal is it. Will things really go that wrong if Tae goes to court?’

‘Do you remember we were looking through those ancient alchemic books in search of Aquirys and more Elkyres?’ Jin asked and Namjoon nodded. ‘It was so hard to find anything on them because they’ve been put under forbidden knowledge. The Ministry doesn’t want us to know something. They’re scared of such unknown powers. And… you have to remember that Elkyric power passes through a bloodline. They will find out Tae is Martaeus’ son and how much do you think the hostility will grow when they find out how Martaeus died? He is still a child… powers not even reached it’s full potential but they will treat him like a monster,’

‘I remember Hohen saying the same. That the Ministry had some sort of animosity with alchemists and Elkyres,’ Joon said.

‘My gut tells me… there is something major that we don’t know yet,’

Namjoon didn’t press further. In all this mystery, the only thing he was sure of was what Jin’s instincts told him because Jin had never been wrong once. He watched Jin’s eyes crease as the barrage of information from the time he had spent in Tae’s forest came rushing in without order. All that Namjoon could do was hold Jin’s hand and press his thumb repeatedly and rhythmically onto the prominent knuckles of his friend’s hands. Jin’s eyes relaxed, watching a spot on the floor as he Saw.

Namjoon’s neck bent back to the letters in his other hand and waited for Jin to come find him again.

*

In the darkness of the old clubroom, between cluttered woodwork stations and piles of tattered parchment rolls, Jungkook and Emina sat beyond their curfew time, wand tips lit. Jungkook carefully stirred a potion, while Emina followed a battered copy of a potions book’s instructions. The Ravenclaw girl moved her knees stretching them out in front of her so that they didn’t cramp, Jungkook noticed and said, ‘Em you can sleep for a few hours. I can watch it until it gets to the colour.’

Em shook her head and asked, ‘Do you really think the Restoration potion will work on the pills?’

‘I hope it does. It will at least give us the ingredients of the original recipe. Matching the ingredients will be the actual pain, so far the potion has separated only-’, Jungkook squinted into the book, ‘-alihosty extract. There are at least three different potions that use it, according to this book, but none of the actual potions are explained here, they are only mentioned in passing.’ The boy nodded as he thought out loud, ‘yes, maybe we should search for the ingredients we have first and let this brew here so we can have a few potions to check it off against,’

A few hours later Jungkook and Emina sneaked into the library trying to find out all the exact ingredients used in anti-hallucinogens and cross checked them against the actual contents of the pill they had deconstructed with the Restoration spell.

‘Em! Here it is, Alihotsy draught, tends to cause hysteria.’ Jungkook’s finger traced over the ingredients and most of them matched with the list they carried with them. But there were still a lot of other ingredients unaccounted for and they went back to searching through the listed potions.

Even though they were unaware of the other exact potions used, they found a lot of common ingredients between the pill and the Befuddlement draught which made the taker confused and reckless. Hoseok had taken two powerful potions in the form of a pill that had caused the aggressive reaction in him.

They still had no answer to the hallucinations Hoseok had experienced, so they had to look in other places besides just in the potions section. Em said, ‘Maybe the library in the Tower might have something on it. Come on.’

The Ravenclaws came to their humongous bookshelf. It covered an entire wall and looked too intimidating for them to traverse through in a single night.

‘Kook, can you hold this?’ Em asked and Jungkook accepted the lantern and stood in front of the bookshelf, as Em heaved open a huge register from the shelf. There was a quill attached to its spine which Emina used to write the keywords for her search. As soon as she was done, she tapped the quill twice and the entire book flipped pages for a good minute or two.The noise echoing through the common room.

They found several books, pulling them out of the shelf. A few hours later, they found the book, it was a muggle book called ‘Pharmacotheon’ which had a section on Psychoactive Drugs. They thumbed through it analyzing the section titled hallucinogens. The other substances found in the pill turned out to be some kind of hallucinogen that Em had been warned about in muggle schools. It was LSD, if all of Hoseok’s symptoms were to be taken into consideration.

‘We should write to Hawkworthe about this. I mean if you say these are muggle drugs, how did they get hold of them?’

Em sat in a stupor for a few minutes before she got out of her seat like she had a eureka moment.

‘I remember this senior. He… he was skilled at potions. He was muggle born and often experimented with mixing muggle and magical components,’

Jungkook’s eyes widened, ‘I remember that… sort of. It was in my first year! He got expelled right?’

‘Yes he did! They found out his experiments involved illegal substances. But I heard he’s doing well for himself now at Knockturne Alley. What did you say the initials were on the pills?’

‘H.B.’ Jungkook replied. ‘Was his name…’

Emina looked at him with a sparkle of victory in her eye. ‘Hector Browne. His name is Hector Browne,’

**_Next Morning, Infirmary_ **

Ash was to be discharged this morning, Jimin looked sheepish, hands smoothing back his hair and smiling at her. He felt a deep uneasiness building in his chest, an irrational feeling that the accident that had Ash so hurt was somehow because he was near her. Sometimes, Jimin had a hard time keeping the demons at bay, they would gang up on him screaming about his weaknesses. He felt even worse now after learning of the presence of the Werewolf venom in his body and he felt like he should go away, far away from Ash. But he couldn't, he thought he was being selfish, the way he wanted to stay next to her even though it would only harm her yet he wouldn't just walk away. She was the one who had his back. When he felt the sudden loneliness gripping him, he would seek her out and she healed him, stayed with him even when she knew of his dangerous affliction. She had stayed. And it was as if his whole life was on fast forward, he was tripping too fast and too soon, his feelings from all the time he had crushed on her was tightening into this fist sized lump inside him and growing.

He watched her reading the card from the bouquets and reached out to touch the soft petal of a particularly bright flower, trying to clear his mind and focus on the present.

‘This one is from Laura,’ Ash said, turning a simple purple card in her hand.

‘What did she say?’

‘Miss you,’ Ash said to Jimin. Even though it was just two words, it still made Ash’s heart ache. She hated the fact that she couldn’t take a more active part in helping them with the trial. Jin had thankfully been able to wake up last night but he did not come bearing good news. The first trial was nearly a disaster for Min-Dracwyns. She prayed someone figured out some new information to help them win.

‘Hobi testified for Min-Dracwyn you know,’ Jimin said to her. He saw her shoulders stiffen at that. ‘What happened? Is something wrong?’

‘No...nothing,’ Ash managed to say through the dry lump in her throat. ‘I just wish I wasn’t under bed rest at a time like this. How… how’s Ho..seok?’

‘As badly injured as you are. I can’t believe both of you had such fatal accidents on the same day. And the Wizengamot didn’t really take Hoseok’s statements seriously because of this. Gwen brought in his past conditions… he… he suffers from traumatic stress, from the time his mother was abducted by Death Eaters,’ Jimin explained. ‘So now the Wizengamot thinks whatever he’s testifying is what he hallucinated. He’s totally beating himself up for it Ash. I don’t know how to tell him its not his fault. He’s really feeling down right now, he’s so worried he’s not able to eat. How will he recover!’

Ash gulped. Despite her last memories of Jung Hoseok being horrific, she still hoped the situation got better for him.

‘But thank god Jin is awake now. I’m sure he’ll take care of things. And Jungkook is helping us out too with much enthusiasm,’ Jimin tried to reassure her.

Ash chuckled. ‘Is he? He must be getting restless without someone to constantly compete with. That boy and his infinite energy,’

A green card with a silver ribbon caught Jimin’s attention, ‘Oh, this one is from the Quidditch team.’

Ash’s voice was hoarse and came out in a wheezing whisper. ‘Yes. Klaus came by earlier.’ Ash beamed at all the bouquets in her room.

Jimin’s eyes crinkled at the ends, her voice sounded so broken. He thumbed another bouquet to distract himself from the tingling in his throat. There was a lot she wasn’t telling him, he realised. But he wouldn’t press her yet. “Who is this from?’ Jimin said picking up the card in the flowers, eyes squinting to read as surprise clouded his features.

‘Wonho ? WONHO?? Isn’t he that Hufflepuff playboy who graduated this year?? Why is he sending you flowers??’  
  
Ash’s eyes lit up and she held out her palm, ‘Oh? Wonho sent flowers? That’s sweet of him.” Ash said not noticing Jimin’s change in tone. His hands searched the other flowers by her side, eyes seeking any more names.   
  
‘And this one …is from a Jackson. W?’   
  
He looked up at her, eyes narrowed. ‘Jackson.W? As in Jackson WANG?? That quidditch player from Durmstrang? He doesn’t even go to this school! How do you even know him??!’ Jimin’s voice was high in surprise.  
  
‘Ah Jackson! I met him last year during a quidditch camp during the summer. He’s nice,’ Ash said looking over at the sweets some of her Slytherin mates had left her.

‘How did he know you were sick?’ Jimin asked, lips shaped into a pout.

‘He didn’t. He just sends me letters now and then, we like to keep in touch,’

  
‘Oh… ok. Wow, you’re popular. Look at all these flowers you’ve received. So many… admirers,’ Jimin said sounding a little heated. Jimin wasn’t unfamiliar to his own jealousy and insecurity. He didn’t want to sound illogical but the feeling hadn’t completely dusted off him, that maybe Ash will find someone else’s attention as important as his.

His last statement made her look at him. Green eyes wide, and Jimin felt his breath catch at her red cheeks and the hesitant words that followed.

‘You’re quite cute when you’re jealous,’ she teased him.

‘I’m not…’ Jimin looked at the floor blushing.

‘Jimin… they’re just friends. They are not … special like you are,’ She said blushing, bringing out a hand to take his.

And everything stilled for a moment. Jimin was mollified, his initial worries fading in the light of the morning and he felt the burgeoning feelings break the uneasiness. He felt the heaviness lift and a lightness invade him. A blinding sunny smile crept into place as his eyes nearly closed to twin crescent moons.

‘Didn’t take you to be the sweet talker,’ he said, moving closer at the tug of her hand. Ash kissed him, wrapping her fingers at the back of his neck. She was pulling him further in, and Jimin held on to the headboard of her bed to not sink her under his weight.

‘You have to get better before you get me all over you,’ he whispered on her lips with a giggle.

‘Then stop being adorable. Or I’ll to remind you harder that you are the special one, no one else,’ she tapped his cheek with a finger, smiling with him.

 **_Ministry of Magic_ ** ****

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[The Wizengamot Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0bp32opLxI&t=0s&list=PLUDirXPAWEhLe3Fx08hvlxVbB8a86UhCM&index=8&ab_channel=DaenerysScore) _

Jiyeon waited outside Kim Hyunseok’s office and the moment his secretary told her to go in, she burst through the door.

‘Lord Kim! You can't possibly believe that deranged girl!’

Hyunseok looked up from his files from behind his desk and slowly stood up. The yellow light in the room had softened his features, making him look 10 years younger.

‘Jiyeon dear you have nothing to worry-’

‘He is just a child! And you want to bring him to court? What kind of a justice system is that?’

‘A system that is giving a fair chance to both parties! Why are you so worried? If Osburne speaks rubbish then the best way to clear it out is if your son comes and shows the jury that her allegations are fraud.

‘I don't want my son involved in a scandal to which he has no connection. He's just a boy. He's not a pawn in the game of these Slytherins. I don't want my son becoming a spectacle. My trainee Auror told me what they said about him. That he's not the brightest of students. Such talk is not something I want my son hearing. You know how gullible the minds of children are. Would you like it if it was your son instead of mine? I know how they treated Jung Minhyuk’s son. That poor boy. His illness is not his fault and you know that. Your family provided him protection when his mother was taken and now you let the jury pick at him like vultures? You didn't say a word in his defence!’

‘Jiyeon… I don't want Taehyung to face an uncomfortable situation either. But the jury has made their decision. I cannot persuade them otherwise. Osborne needs a chance to prove herself,’

‘I should've known…’ Jiyeon stepped back towards the door. ‘You only care about defeating the Dracwyns,’ she turned back and walked out, banging the door shut behind her.

**_Antechamber I to Courtroom_ **

A pre-trial jury meeting had been deemed necessary to review the contents of the case before resuming the second day, the small room was filled with and witches and wizards shouting in outrage, their loud voices betraying indignation, concern and mostly fear. Dumbledore sat at the very end of the long table, hands shaped to resemble a steeple in front of his tired, drawn, and old face. He wondered if he had let his guard down since Tom Riddle vanished that it had led to such problems in Hogwarts. What he felt even more distressed at was that his students were pawns in a game beyond their understanding, being used as dispensable pieces to further political interests. Not that he wasn’t familiar with using students as pawns in a plot far beyond their understanding, but Dumbledore had a particularly precognitive sense that this case was getting out of his hands and towards an outcome he could not predict. The uncertainty of it all made him was what did not sit well with him. He had no foreseeable solution for the problem at hand, because he was far too close to the problem himself.

His thoughts were disturbed when one of the jurors who had yet to speak this far into the meeting, raised himself forward among the restlessness and spoke, ‘Seems to me Dumbledore, this trial has too many allowances made on its behalf, being the headmaster of Hogwarts may be overshadowing being the Chief Warlock.’ He paused letting the sentence hang in the air.

Dumbledore considered the statement, he was afraid this might happen. ‘Lord Kim, not for a moment have I not been their Headmaster and the Chief Warlock, the case would have yielded similar results in whichever authority I was. But I still do not condone detaining Min-Dracwyns or Gwen Osburne any longer than necessary in a political move that has made pawns of children, just so some houses could have a better hold on others,’ His blue eyes held Hyunseok’s gaze knowingly. ‘I intend to get to the bottom of this within the week and the Minister agrees with me as well.’

Lord Kim leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin, ‘Yes, I admit I can understand your concerns but that does not mean we can compromise on the actual trial, Dumbledore. The truth will come to light no matter what, even if you might not want it to.’

Madam Bones looked between the two men whose eyes were fixed on each other, appraising. The air in the room sparked electric but the tension ceased when Umbridge cleared her throat, ‘Perhaps we should arrange for a replacement judge when this happens, Clause C of Article 20 states that.’

Fudge was flustered because he could not on his authority refuse either of the men now turning to him to make a decision as Minister of Magic. He needed all the support and help he could get from them, but he would be damned if he let Dumbledore gain any more influence over the Ministry, it would only undermine Fudge’s own position at this point.

‘Yes. . . Yes, er, Dumbledore you are relieved of the position for the time being and we will now proceed to . . . um. . select the replacement . . .’ Fudge lets the sentence trail in the air.

Dumbledore was furious and several others rise up to protest the move, but in the few minutes of chaotic screaming and placating, the Headmaster had already left.

**_Antechamber II, pre-trial_ **

Yoongi and Laura walk through the corridor leading to the antechamber as Hawkworthe required their presence for a run-through of the case. Laura was speaking to Yoongi, palm on the door jamb, ‘I feel like it will be pertinent to close the case before Gwen has the opportunity to talk about Martaeus. Gwen doesn’t care for expulsion. She knows the Death Eaters will keep her as long as she delivers Taehyung to them,’

Yoongi nodded, eyes solemn, ‘She hasn't brought up that piece of information yet. I think she's holding it for the last coz accusing Kim Jiyeon of having an illegitimate child really is pushing the limit. Jiyeon is a renowned Auror and Gwen can't pull back from that. Gwen likes the drama and all eyes on her, if at all she is to bring that point she will bring it near the end. I say we never give that to her.’

Laura nodded pushing the door open and entering to watch the lawyer sort through the papers and letters on his desk, organising everything. He watched the cousins settle before him to be briefed about the nature of the case and the direction it is estimated to take for the trial. He pointed to Yoongi, ‘Yoongi, please try to stay calm and settled today, we can’t have the judge jumping down our throat again, especially because the presiding judge is now Lord Kim.’

Yoongi frowned but didn't say much. The lawyer spoke again, ‘Right so for Miss Dracwyn’s testimony. . .’

Yoongi tuned the words out, if he were honest, he felt like death warmed over and the anxiety and emotions running high for the past few days had drained him. He missed the school, his cozy common room. His missed his clingy roommate Jimin. He missed Vanessa, he missed Quidditch. And he missed the Hufflepuff quidditch captain’s warm smile. He wanted to see that one last time if he indeed ended up going to Azkaban…

**_Courtroom, trial in session_ **

Laura’s face was an immobile mask as she confronted the jury. Hawkworthe had tried to explain the procedure of the case to her but she had hardly listened, a constant rushing sound filled her mind like the burning of a house on fire, the burning, cracking, and cackling, haunting long after the flames had retreated from sight. She had noted with pursed lips the absence of Dumbledore on the dais, and then the square face of Lord Kim standing in his place had passed over her, so different from the face of his son, not in features but in the demeanor, the father-son looked quite alike, but in how it was weathered and astute like her grandfather’s. And Laura noted how the look of men in power became somehow identical as time passed by.

She felt her own family and lawyer shift in their seats, yet another variable had changed in their case now, and there was no doubt, no matter how they played this game, balance would remain skewered from this point on. She wished it hadn’t come to this, to this precarious point where she had to choose between her blood and her promise. A weight started to press behind her eyes, but by the time, the Court had settled to begin functioning, all emotion was again wiped clean from Laura’s face, except for a burning determination in her purple eyes. She saw her aunt Averil talk to Hawkworthe in whispers but it looked like something very important. She handed him a letter which widened Hawkworthe’s eyes as he read it. The lawyer gestured towards Charles Dracwyn who was talking to a Ministry Department Head. Averil seemed to be requesting something of Hawkworthe but the lawyer showed fear… fear of Charles Dracwyn. He nodded, and both looked like they were trying to reach a compromise.

The formalities of the Court pass by her in a blur, Laura’s attention was fixed on a spot far beyond the shadowed recesses of the courtroom, biding her time and her words. She tuned Gwen’s lawyer out, the stare she knows has been on her since she sat, but Laura would not give Gwen the satisfaction of it, the smugness on her face would be wiped soon.  
  
‘Miss Dracwyn, the allegations against you extend back to your fourth year, when you indulged in mocking the juniors in the presence of Ms Osburne, and I quote, ‘they are too weak and stupid to know what they are doing.’ Following which you proceeded to punish them with Dark spells because they had been in the same class as one Kim Taehyung and did not provide the information you were seeking. Is this true?’

If looks could kill, Clarke would have been ashes. Laura breathed slowly through her nose, leaning back on her chair unmoving. Her voice was sharp as she spoke even as she languidly gazed at the accusers against her in Court. She looked almost bored. ‘No. It is not.’

‘I wonder if Kim Taehyung will have the same answers as you have,’ the lawyer said.

The side doors opened and an Auror walked in, making the Court go silent. Everyone’s eyes followed the Auror going up to Kim Hyunseok on the dias and whispering something in his ear. Once the Chief Warlock heard the message he nodded and said, ‘Let them in,’ He turned to the court. ‘I think it’s best we continue this case in the presence of this person of interest,’ Hyunseok said. ‘Kim Taehyung please come in,’

Everyone turned to the side doors again with bated breath, curiosity making their etiquettes take a back seat. Everyone was leaning out of their seats to get a look at this silver haired boy with special powers. Laura felt her heart thud hard against her ribcage and tried not to shift in her seat or clench her fists lest any of it be noticed. She tried to mentally prepare herself to tackle whatever was going to happen next. She hadn’t seen Taehyung since the day they had found Jungkook’s kitten Blueberry. That was the last day when everything was normal. What would she see now coming through the door? She glanced at Yoongi who looked too scared to even look towards the entryway, his golden head being the only one not craning to get a glimpse of the mysterious boy. He had seen the ethereal appearance of the Ice Elkyre… if the jury sees that too then their promise to protect Taehyung would become useless.

Dumbledore walked in, a hint of fury on his face. He looked back and beckoned someone. The court burst into whispers as soon as the boy and his mother entered the room. Brown haired and dark eyed, he was a child indeed, an innocent boy of 14.

_‘Didn’t that girl say silver hair?’_

_‘He looks normal,’_

_‘So young,’_

_‘He isn’t what she said he would be,’_

A massive wave of relief washed over Laura and Yoongi and she felt her shoulders relax. This was a miracle indeed she thought. She didn’t know how or who had helped him to get his appearance back to normal, but she had never been more thankful. Her eyes went to Gwen who sat there gawking. This was a blow she wasn’t expecting and Laura tried her best to resist the smirk coming up on her face.

Taehyung walked nervously beside his mother, while Jiyeon had a fierce expression, ready to cut anyone who dared hurt her son. The boy didn’t look at anyone, the whispering voices around him already feeling like probing hands trying to invade his space, pull at him, turn him over so they could get a better look at what he was. He was a spectacle.

Taehyung squirmed in his seat as nearly sixty odd eyes focused on his form, and the pin dropped. His mother was an auror of repute and her presence at the witness stand with her underage son really highlighted the fact that Taehyung was anything but a powerful wielder such as Gwen Osborne had made him to be.

Taehyung was lanky and when he pulled his arms and shoulders into himself, he looked smaller than his actual self, Jiyeon was painfully aware of all the signs of distress collecting on her son’s form. But she could do nothing, Taehyung had made that clear, there was still fury lurking in him. A deep seated indignation that she hadn't had time to soothe away before being dragged to Court. He would not even speak to her, maybe he held her responsible for what he had become. She remembered the cold in his eyes, colder than his skin emitted, and his fury, it was etched into her very being. The sunshine and warmth had become such cold fury locked inside, she had seen mirrored in him Martaeus Aquirys, her blood had run cold. Even now, in a glance, at an angle, a certain inherent habit and it came rushing back to Jiyeon, reminiscent so much of his Elkyric father. And it would bring back the same feelings of horror, sadness, fear which Jiyeon would as she always has, bury beneath a wave of calm and practical action. She disciplined her thoughts just as she had done before, she had to defend her son. It was not something she couldn’t get away with, Taehyung would be kept safe no matter what. Jiyeon would make sure of that, even if it came to throwing away someone guiltless into Azkaban.

Completely taken aback by the attention he was receiving, Taehyung turned slightly to see if there was indeed someone else behind him who was deserving of such undivided attention as they had placed him under. Lord Kim looked down at the huddling figure in the witness stand and then at Clarke.  _So Jiyeon was right after all. He is so young._

Clarke continued with his question for Laura.

‘Miss Dracwyn, what is your relationship with Mr. Kim Taehyung?’ he asked.

‘None. I have never spoken to him unless I have had to issue any prefectural commands.’ Laura chose to ignore the twitch she saw from the corner of her eye. She would hurt Taehyung, she had accepted that. Laura only hoped he would not be too angry to not forgive her.

‘So, do you deny befriending Mr.Kim? Have you never contacted him or met him outside of school premises, expressly at the Shrieking Shack?’

Laura was aware of the intense glare her grandfather was giving her. He still expected her to oblige to his plans but she was resolute in her decision. Laura’s eyebrows lifted and her eyes moved towards Clarke, expression nonchalantly incredulous as she spoke, ‘Kim Taehyung and I do not run in the same circles, if it wasn’t obvious to you before. I have no reason to meet this boy anywhere,’

‘Let me track back to the incident which happened at the end of last semester, putting Miss Osburne in St. Mungo’s. I would like to call Kim Taehyung to the witness stand,’ Clarke said and Hyunseok nodded.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Light of the Seven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS-gbqbVd8c&ab_channel=GameofTens) _

Taehyung walked to the stand opposite Laura’s with shaky legs. He side glanced at Laura who, as always pretended not to know him. Her nervousness was guarded with an expression of arrogance.

‘Kim Taehyung do you recognise this person sitting opposite you,’ Clarke asked. Laura’s jaws clenched. Taehyung needed to play along. She didn’t know who had briefed him about the case or if he was briefed at all. She shot a casual glance at Dumbledore, wondering if he had guided Taehyung for this. Their plans needed to align or the Ministry will know something's not right.

A jerky nod is followed by Taehyung squinting up to make out faces in the dark. His eyes look over to Dumbledore, sitting a few feet away facing him. He had promised he would help, although Taehyung felt like he could trust no one at this moment. It was the most awful feeling, the helplessness, of watching others hurt because of him. Even with all the power surging through him he felt helpless. Repeatedly a witness to others being punished in his stead.

It was strange, Taehyung felt the power, a physical force that could perhaps freeze the entire room, but it would do him no good if words were the weapon of choice. The weakness kept seeping in from the real. He felt like someone else, an imposter wearing the skin of a Taehyung from another era.

‘What is your relationship to Miss Laura Dracwyn and Mr. Min Yoongi?’ Clarke continued.

Taehyung opened his mouth but there was no sound at first. His voice broke as he forced it out of his throat.

‘Th-they are prefects… and I just know them b-by name,’ he stuttered in fear.

‘You have never spoken to them?’

‘Very… very rarely. Only for… only when Jeffrey Thomas and Derreck Rosier… or Gwen Osburne… were involved,’ Taehyung could not look in Gwen’s direction.

‘Jeffrey and Derreck? The boys who testified yesterday. Care to elaborate Kim Taehyung?’ Madam Bones asked.

‘Uh . . . ’ he paused, looking around for a bit, not really comfortable with the direction the conversation was heading. ‘Thomas, Rosier and Osburne would ask me to do strange things.’

‘Strange things?’ Lord Kim peered over the dais.

Taehyung’s voice dropped in volume, ‘Some difficult spells or to hurt some small animal or make me hurt myself. I hated it.’

The court was getting louder by the minute, Hawkworthe intervened, ‘So, what you are saying is that Gwen Osborne bullied you?’

‘Objection Chief Warlock! He is leading the witness.’ Clarke jumped in.

Lord Kim considered, ‘Sustained.’

‘Alright,’ Hawkworthe said, ‘I shall ask a different question. Did Miss Dracwyn and Mr. Min intervene when Miss Osburne, Mr. Jeffrey Thomas and Mr. Derreck Rosier make you do these strange things?’

Biting his lips and pulling his loose grey sweater’s sleeves, Taehyung answered the question, ‘Yes,’

‘And what did they do?’

‘The two prefects would make them stop it. They would tell them not to hurt me anymore,’

‘And such an act never kindled a friendship between the three of you?’ Kim Hyunseok asked.

Taehyung nodded. ‘They are pure blood Slytherins. They were only keeping their students out of trouble. They have no reason to befriend me. Like Laura Dracwyn said… we don’t run in the same circles,’

His last words stung Laura.

Hawkworthe continued. ‘There must be a reason why Miss Osburne would target you relentlessly. In all these years, had she ever expressed any reason?’

Taehyung shook his head.

‘Did you ever fight back when you were mistreated by the accuser?’

‘I tried… but… but they were stronger…’ Taehyung said with a lot of difficulty. He was remembering his most lonely and weak moments. It had him feel like he was dying on the inside. And at the same time, the surge of power in him wanted his revenge for all the pain he had been subjected to.

 _‘Poor child...’_ he heard a voice from the jury.

‘You never had any outbursts of magical powers even in these extreme pressured situations you said you faced at the hands of Miss Osburne?’

Taehyung shook his head nervously. His hands felt clammy. He wasn’t expecting the Min-Dracwyn lawyer to push him into a corner. Was he fighting all 3 sides now?

_‘He doesn’t seem all that-’_

_‘He couldn’t defend himself?’_

_‘He is Auror Kim Jiyeon’s son isn’t he!?’_

His eyes and ears sharpen at the last of the comments. Jiyeon shifted uncomfortably at the whispers she was hearing from the jury pricking at Tae’s self esteem.

‘My son as well as the Min-Dracwyns have stated that he has nothing to do with these allegations that Osburne is putting on him. If the questioning is done, we would like to leave. This is an extremely hostile environment for a 14 year old. The jury seems to be thinking out a bit too loud,’

The whisperers in the jury sit back, a guilty look on their faces.

‘Mrs. Kim Jiyeon, you must understand this is an intensive investigation,’ Clarke interrupted. ‘We all are aware that even Bellatrix Lestrange showed interest in your son the night the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts,’

The jury nodded in agreement and this time Dumbledore intervened.

‘Then may I ask the jury to stick to questioning instead of creating meaningless noise, discussing like they are watching a show,’

The Wizengamot gasped at his words.

‘Dumbledore!’ Umbridge exclaimed. ‘The things we discuss are of importance and relevance to the case at hand,’

‘Madam Umbridge, I will do what I have to in order to keep the well-being of my students intact. I am their Headmaster now, since I was relieved of the duties of the Chief Warlock. And I will not have any slander talk about these young witches and wizards from the adults present in this court. I hope the jury behaves accordingly,’

‘So far, the two witnesses who have spoken for the Min-Dracwyn side seem unsure in their statements,’ Perseus said. ‘Neither Jung Hoseok nor Kim Taehyung seem completely confident. And they speak the complete opposite of what Gwen’s witnesses have stated. Nothing is meeting a common ground,’

Hawkworthe was still insistent with his questions to Taehyung, which made Laura and Yoongi impatient. They knew the case was going exactly the way their grandfather wanted it to. Now all was left was for Hawkworthe to nudge Laura and Yoongi out of the scene and focus on Taehyung as the perpetrator of the incident and he did just that. Yoongi even considered trying a non-verbal fire spell to cause a commotion so that they could stop focusing on Taehyung. But he realised that would be the most dangerous thing to do with an unstable Ice Elkyre in the same room.

Hawkworthe cleared his throat, ‘Were you present near the fourth floor of the corridor on Monday?’

Taehyung did not want to be reminded of that incident. It was making him feel suffocated, like he was back in that choking furnace and needed to break free. He had an urge in him, to release the power building inside of him. That power was telling him that it would set him free from this asphyxiation he was feeling, from this weakness. But he could not do that. Dumbledore had warned him that he will feel this kind of pressure because the seal he had placed on his powers were not permanent. It couldn’t be permanent anymore… Taehyung was an Elkyre and there was no turning away from something that coursed through his veins.

He went very still as he answered, ‘No. I had a late Astronomy class-’

‘HE’S LYING!’ Gwen screamed out and her shrill voice made Taehyung shiver. He wanted to unleash his fury on her, all that she had put him through. His breaths got shorter, fingertips turning cold as chilling currents surged through his body. He was completely unaware of the alarmed look Dumbledore was giving him. The headmaster could see Taehyung's body starting to shake. Taehyung raised his hooded eyes to finally look at Gwen and he wanted to crush her between his palms, watch her burst like an iceberg thrashed through a wrecking ball. Maybe he should. Maybe he should put an end to it all.

‘HE WAS THERE! YOU HAVE TO KNOW!’ Gwen wasn't shutting up. ‘HIS FATHER-’

‘CHIEF WARLOCK,’ Jiyeon sprang to her feet in fear. ‘I cannot let an underage wizard sit here and listen to all these fabrications. Control the accuser please!’

They were all momentarily distracted by Hawkworthe’s assistant who came in, handing a paper to Hawkworthe and whispering something urgently in his ear.

‘Chief Warlock,’ Hawkworthe turned from Taehyung to Lord Hyunseok. ‘We do have a witness we have found late in the case. If I may be allowed to present him before the Wizengamot.’

Lord Kim adjusted his round spectacles, ‘Mr Hawkworthe I haven’t had the time to go through the updated brief-’ The oak doors groaned opened to admit the witness.

There weren’t many things that shook the head of the Kim House, they had an illustrious reputation as protectors of the weak, as pursuers of justice, truth and beauty. Ancient and powerful the family had branched from their royal roots in the east and made a home in the west, they were the pinnacle of wizard kind, combining two great traditions of the magical world and it showed. It showed in the way Kim Seokjin entered the courtroom, in possession of himself, his entire form demanding attention like he deserved every eye to swivel and every mouth to drop in sheer awe of him. Seokjin’s hooded eyes were focused, none of the loose jointed dork-like seventh year from Hogwarts was left in him, he was here as the heir of the Kim legacy, he was here to inspire confidence, to make his audience hang on to his every word and believe it, without doubt.

Seokjin seated himself on the Min-Dracwyn witness stand and the muted jury hadn’t recovered yet from the force of confidence emitted by this seventeen year old in a crisp suit running golden oriental patterns that twisted and gleamed over the deep-crimson of the suit, the colour of his House and the haetae sigil woven into the fabric. There was a lull in the atmosphere in which no one knew how to speak, how to precede, how to comprehend a situation such as this- the Chief Warlock's son sitting on the Min-Dracwyn's side. Jin broke the silence, dark eyes fixed upon the audience he was about to bring to under his influence.

His voice was steady, carrying and confident, ‘My name is Kim Seokjin. I am a seventh ye-’ He started only to be interrupted. In the eerie stillness, the gavel sounded, a lone call for order when none was required and Jin paused and looked up at his father. Lord Kim looked like lightning had struck him in the face. A few moments passed, there was not a jury member who didn’t know who Seokjin was, but the mystery was why he was on the other side of the table. The gavel came down again, a sharp sound slicing clean through the incessant white noise of people thinking very loudly.

Lord Kim was a man who rarely showed his emotions freely, but it was clear the shock in his eyes as he watched his son join hands with the criminal, the arch nemesis. The thick tension in the air was like a brick wall. ‘The Court declares a recess.’ He all but threw the gavel down, storming off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAYUM THAT WAS SOME ENTRY KIM SEOKJIN!!!! I can hear Dumbledore yelling in this head > 10000 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! (I had so much coffee to help me work through my fever and now I'm only screaming in my head)
> 
> BUT WAIT! HOLD UP! There is something for y'all. And I hope you like it >  
> [House of Cards II - Teaser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Lrt_znfVc&t=13s&ab_channel=JackfruitNim)
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Next chapter on Monday.


	5. Wizengamot III - Moulders of Justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said Monday.... but I was in a YOLO mood and I love you all.
> 
>  
> 
> **Incase you are confused with the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)_

[Ramin Djawadi - Victory Does not Make Us Conquerors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGZYledpOTw)

[Ramin Djawadi - Winter is Coming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43rretY8xwk)

_‘Had the Osborne child been right about my son?’_  Hyunseok wondered as he stormed down the dias, maneuvering out of the crowd, the entire courtroom stared at him wide eyed at this sudden decision of an interval.

Some in the crowd glowered at him while some looked with feigned concern, ready in a moment to be at his aid, win his favour. A rather common occurrence for those riding on power, there would always be those weaker and they were usually one of two types. One would be those who were parasites, hanging on, flattering, seeking any tidbits of power thrown their way so they may use it to clamber over others; then there were others lurking in shadows whose hostility was open and served the same purpose but less dangerous when compared to the parasites. Power, Hyunseok surmised was addictive and the consolidation of it was the most formidable of all endeavours. There was nothing more brave than wielding power and doing things for the greater good. And that’s exactly what Kim Hyunseok wanted to do, and he needed to triumph over the Dracwyns if he wanted to be seen as the sole encompasser of power that could take wizard-kind to a better future.

He frowned as his dark eyes scanned the scattered crowds for a head of familiar hair. He frowned because Seokjin, his heir, knew all of this, he had grown up absorbing the chivalry, generosity and great bravery of his ancestors, Yet... yet he now seeks the company of a family who couldn’t have been but a perfect contradiction to his own legacy. The likes of Min-Dracwyns were, in Lord Kim’s opinion the result of rather unfortunate belief in egotistical self-absorbance and cultivated insouciance. To see his son associating with them was rather an unpleasant sight for him when he found him in his crimson robes, amidst the cooler, greyer shades of the enemy’s attire.

Pursing his lips at the familiarity of their conversation and at the ease with which Jin and the Min-Dracwyn children spoke, the very way in which they stood close together made Lord Kim wonder about the true nature of the case, their relationship and the relevance of their secrecy and intimacy. When had they become friends? Had his son come under some dangerous influence? His son’s eyes flickered towards him, even as his hand rested on Laura Dracwyn’s shoulder, bending toward her ear to quietly speak something privately. Jin’s hands remained on Laura but his eyes were trained on his father and a twitch of his fingers that Seokjin caught in the periphery of his vision meant that he should follow his father to the antechamber.

At the antechamber, hands on the desk, head down, staring at his rosewood surface, Lord Kim stood. The older man was chewing the inside of his cheek, frown indicating his thought process was disturbed. Jin had obediently followed after him and now stood behind the chair facing a small work table, hands finding purchase on the back of the chair to hold his still coma weak legs without collapsing.

‘Seok-Jin ah.’ He begins, voice soft and eyes distant. ‘Remind me of our House words.’

Jin swallowed, hands tightening over the back of the wooden chair, squeezing the words through his throat, ‘Death before Dishonour.’

‘Remind me of your duty to this family, son.’ he said the same lilt and tone of voice.

Jin swallowed, keeping his silence.

‘I have written extensively to you on this subject. Come on, don’t fail me now. Or have you forgotten what it is?’

Jin answered without a fleck of emotion, ‘That will not change anything.’

‘Your involvement changes everything. Do you realize how it looks?’ Hyunseok looked up at his only son. ‘The heir of the Kims is a character witness to bail the Min-Dracwyns?’ He paused. ‘You have a duty to your name. You are the next in line to continue the pure blood of the House, need I remind you of it every time?’

Jin felt his throat close, and chest twinge with hurt.  _This again._ He thought. Rearranging the feelings of frustration and dread that threatened to cloud his mind.

‘I only want to save Taehyung.’ he whispers terse.

His throat felt a little dry. All of these plans in his head had seemed plausible, but actually executing them was a complete experiment. Jin was floating without an anchor, he wished Namjoon were here instead of him. He had a way with authority figures and words, that was impossible to emulate unless one had been born so, and Jin had to pretend to bring a mask each time. Each time beneath each face he wore, there would be the real him, aware of all that went on, unable to make changes, too scared to make the wrong move. The insecurity and doubt plagued him, but if there was one thing he was certain of it was that he wanted to keep Taehyung safe. He would keep him from the fate that had been forced upon him, as had his own ability of Seeing that he had been born with. If there was even a sliver of a chance for Taehyung to live by his own choices and without any influence, Jin would jump at it, because with his powers he had never had had a chance. He couldn’t just See and let be, because as his father had now reminded him he lived to serve and protect. And walking away was never an option, no matter how averse he was to act. Jin was  _awake_ , he could never not interfere, never not  _see_. That was his lot in life.

His father hummed eyes still distant, ‘I wondered if you had forgotten because you seem to be a part of the Min-Dracwyn posse now.’ He nodded to himself, some self –confirming thoughts running through his head.

‘I do not belong in any posse.’ Jin replied tersely, his attention starting to fall on the annoying way his father wouldn’t look his way when he spoke. Jin hated being spoken  _at_ , he wanted to be spoken  _to_ , with the other person’s attention on him rather than an ugly grey artificial sky.

The silence stretched between them, just like the unsaid words between them increased. Jin knew the cogs were turning in his father’s head, he could see it from the set of his shoulders.

‘Then what is the meaning of this? How could you think to defy your father and speak for a family that has hated every ideal that our kind ever stood for?’

‘I am an adult father I do not need your permission. I must speak for things that I believe in, no matter how differently you may feel about it.’ Seokjin’s voice had risen slightly at the end, he had been speaking of more than one thing when he made that statement. Lord Kim recognized the trap immediately and seized it because it seemed to be the only plausible solution to their impasse.

‘Is this some kind of newfound manner of rebellion Seokjin? Is that how you have decided to betray our values? Are you throwing away your legacy?’

Silence.

‘Are they your friends now? . . . That Dracwyn girl . . . are you fond of her?’

Jin sighs, ‘Father. Taehyu-’

Then there is frustration. ‘Is this the influence of that Muggle born boy? Namjoon was it? I have heard he is smart, and Muggle-borns are always out to prove themselves. Their ambition knows no bounds. . . There ways are different from ours, I always knew that. They don’t understand the value of a powerful bloodline, because they’re nobodies,’

Jin didn’t like the implications of that tone, he glowered but remained quiet.

‘You have become so unfamiliar to me Seokjin. I don’t know my own son anymore. Why would you betray your responsibility and duty? Where is the honour in bowing to the likes of a family like the Dracwyns? Where is your honour?’

‘Father, I have told you several times, I do not stand for the kind of honour and justice you believe in. It is absurd, you cannot expect to be a fair judge unless you have listened to every side of the argument but you just listen to what you want and bury the rest. Just like you always do with me.’

Lord Kim scoffed, ignoring a part of the problem like always, ‘What do you expect from a Slytherin, who were former Death Eaters no less? They have finally been caught. All we need do now is let the case play out so we can bring the  _mighty_  Dracwyn down,’

‘FATHER!’ Jin’s anguished cry rang through the room, he is still weak and stiff from having been locked in a coma but there is nothing that betrayed it to his father, ‘You must listen to me for ONCE.’

In all their passive aggressive dissention, Jin had never raised his voice this way. Lord Kim was stunned into silence, something in his son’s eye, the glint of fury simmering beneath made him listen.

‘Do not for a moment think that you have been doing all of  _this_.’ Jin’s hands spread out ‘for the greater good. I always believed you cared for something other than honour but now I see that you don’t. You would sacrifice Taehyung to get your way. He is only fourteen, he doesn’t belong in a courtroom.’

Hyunseok watched impassively, having heard the gist of a similar conversation before, ‘Taehyung is a key witness to the case, Jin. He must testify so we may know the truth.’

Eyes shining with frustration, Jin asked, ‘Is that all there is to it? Justice? Then it should be me who testifies, Taehyung really knows nothing. He wasn’t even there, father.’ he implores.

‘So you are telling me I have been daft enough to bring a case to Court where everything is built on a lie? Is that it?’ His father thunders, voice still barely raised.

Sighing, Jin runs a crooked hand down his face, ‘Father, you have given in to the temptation to defeat the Dracwyns a bit too hastily. You saw with your own eyes, Taehyung’s appearance hasn’t changed into something unworldly like Gwen described! She’s lying. Taehyung needs to be protected. From everyone. He is more important than that empty words you keep throwing at me.’

His father’s jaw worked, working it over. He wasn’t convinced, but something in him shifted watching his son asking him a favour, after the longest time since things had gone sour Jin was susceptible. ‘Why is it so important to protect him?’

‘He is a child father! He is my friend, I care for him like a brother! He is more real, more tangible and in need of help than all the abstract values you consider important,’

 _That is hardly enough,_ Hyunseok thought but didn’t voice. He was thinking of all the repercussions this would cause in the long run. Yes, honour, truth and justice were intangible but if they were treated so then there would be only chaos left in the world and Hyunseok was a deep believer of the system. Such talk was less than ideal coming from his son, Lord Kim was disappointed in the boy, he really couldn't see past his own nose. For the greater good, some things must be done and one of them was to make Min-Dracwyns irrelevant. The joint forces of those two dragon families still remain far too powerful, and House Kim might be delegated to the sides, he had to use this opportunity to step up. Once again, the Kims would be of unparalleled nobility, only Min-Dracwyn need fall.

Lord Kim would be not dissuaded from that. ‘It’s not as simple as you think. This has become more than a school fight,’

They looked across the table at each other for a long moment, and Jin knew he would have to lay himself on the line to push his father to action. His father expected something of great value from him so he would give him of the same value. He would have to erase himself and become a doll.

He bowed his head, ‘I will do as you say, be the son you want me to be. Please you must protect Taehyung.’

_*_

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Wizengamot Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP-c4Nx4MtE&list=PLUDirXPAWEhLe3Fx08hvlxVbB8a86UhCM&index=4&ab_channel=OfficialSoundtrack) _

‘The session will resume.’ Cornelius Fudge said sullenly, skulking back into his seat. He had tried cornering Kim Hyunseok after, but he had been very politely brushed off.

‘Proceed.’

Jin is back in his seat, looking unperturbed but there is a rigidity to his posture that wasn’t there before but most are too stunned by his beauty to remark upon such a trivial variation that often goes unnoticed in favour of pursuing other physical aspects of the seventeen year old.

‘So you are saying that Ms. Osburne went to St. Mungo’s because she picked a duel with you and Ms. Dracwyn had to intervene?’ Madam Bones was nearly leaning out of her seat.

‘Yes, in fact, it wasn’t a duel. Gwen Osborne attacked me in the dungeon with some theory about some hidden power. She attacked me right after using the Cruciatus Curse.’

Gwen Osborne was out of her seat again, ‘Preposterous! He was never there! It was Taehyung! I called Taehyung there.’

Mrs. Osburne tried to discreetly pull Gwen back to her seat, praying that the slip of tongue would go unnoticed. Jin’s presence had completely shaken Gwen’s composure. On the first day of the trial, she had everything and everyone in the palm of her hand. Now one by one she could see things slipping away.

‘Miss Osburne, you called Taehyung?’

‘I mean… Kim Seokjin wasn’t even there. I remember because it was Taehyung I last saw before my memory was wiped clean.’

Lord Kim shakes his head, ‘Miss Osbourne you are making contradictory statements. Did you not state, that you were in fact tortured because you found out Min and Dracwyn repeatedly cornered Kim Taehyung? Now you are saying that you had called him?’

There were several lines on Clarke’s forehead as he tried to somehow salvage the situation ‘My client is still in state of confusion regarding that incident from her extensive brain damage and is currently unwell. So if you will excuse this statement of hers,’

A witch among the Wizengamot simpered, ‘Then haven't we been listening to her so far then, wasn't it her convictions that brought us this far? Shouldn't we hear her out?’

‘Miss Osburne you described this boy very differently that what we all are seeing from our own eyes. Not to forget the accusations Kim Taehyung is posing against you of bullying him. I think an explanation is in order,’ Madam Bones looked crossly through her glasses at the girl.

Gwen was red in the face, this was supposed to be her biggest advantage, but now it had turned around on her. Why was Taehyung looking like his old self? From what Bellatrix had told her, sealing an Elkyre’s powers at this stage was not possible. He certainly did not look like a normal human in his Elkyre state, and if the jury had seen him like that then half her purpose would’ve been complete. But she couldn’t give up yet. She had to find a way.

She repeated the same story she had said before, adding, ‘I called Taehyung to warn him about the Slytherin prefects’ intentions,’

Jin was beginning to feel antsy, ‘It will only prove how delusional you have turned out to be Gwen. You must not tell lies.’ His voice was soft, but the words were powerful. Out of all the witnesses to appear he seemed to be the most reliable, by demeanour and stature.

‘Kim Taehyung,’ Madam Bones asked the boy, ‘Did Gwen Osburne call you to the ground floor dungeons at the end of last year? Were you there during this duel involving Osburne, Dracwyn and Kim?’

Taehyung hadn’t looked at Jin even once since the older had come in and even now, his eyes only looked towards the Wizengamot, as if he did not really recognise his friend sitting a few feet away from him.

‘I did not meet Gwen Osburne in any dungeon last year. I have no idea about this duel,’

With Gwen having dug her own grave rather deeply with her lawyer stating her brain damage as reason, the jury was hard pressed at this point to trust neither the victim nor the defendant. There is as much disarray as the incident first occurred, if not more.

‘Kim Seokjin, can you describe to us the events that led to the admission of Ms. Osburne to St. Mungo’s?’ Lord Kim voiced.

‘Gwen Osborne had a few months previously started asking me strange questions and following around my friend Kim Taehyung. Her friends often called Taehyung away and he would return with bruises and inexplicably their appearance would be tied with the times I have seen Gwen or either one of her friends with Taehyung. Naturally, I wanted to look after my junior so on the last day of our pre-vacation session, I went to see them and explain to them how harmful bullying was,’

 **‘** LIES! **’** Gwen was out of her seat again, pointing maniacally at Jin while she vehemently opposed him.

Perching his glasses further up his nose, Hyungseok warned, ‘Continue this Miss Osborne and you shall be held in contempt of the Court.’

Gwen was sputtering as the pink haired auror behind her forcibly pulled her down to her seat. Clarke was already looking dejected in his corner, because if Gwen kept interrupting the court again with Lord Kim she would lose any positive ground they had covered last time.

‘-as I was saying, Gwen Osborne displayed wild qualities,’ Jin continued. ‘When I met her in the dungeon, she threw a tantrum and uttered several words which are unfit for the court and which I shall not repeat. But suffice to say Gwen Osborne had worked herself up a nice story of Taehyung being some kind of powerful being and how she was going to save him-?’ At this Jin looked up at his audience, a slight endearing confused frown sitting on his forehead, the end of his statement posed as a question so that the jury is subliminally also aware of the incredulity of the statements. He pushed his hands out to his knees, palms open as he continued, ‘Then I was reasonably confused because Kim Taehyung, my fourteen year old friend is a very normal student. He - He is really not anything special. As far as I know he is an average fourth year student,’

Seokjin tried not to fidget much in his seat or blink too much as he had a habit of doing. Namjoon had warned him that those were classic signs of lying and a jury would smell it from a mile if he displayed them openly. He kept his palms nice and in easy view, voice unhurried the pace banter-like as he spun his own web of lies.

‘It so happened that two fourth years attacked me and were stunned in the process. It was self-defense. Gwen on the other hand used an unforgivable curse on me. In fact, she did so when I had my back turned to her. This is how Laura found us and she helped. And as much as I saw, Gwen is certainly more to blame for the attacks than Laura or Yoongi. As the Court has already witnessed she really is not in her right mind-’

Gwen had been watching, her eyes frantic as Jin won the jury over slowly and surely. She saw the nodding heads and the whispers in her ear told her she would lose. She had been deeply afraid this would happen but surely the evidence would be insufficient, whereas she has letters from Bellatrix herself written to Laura. ‘I am not LYING. Lord Kim has your son been poisoned by the snakes as well. I told you-, I warned you.’ Gwen’s voice was hoarse with shouting.

Kim Hyunseok knew when to cut his ‘assets’ when they turned into ‘liabilities’ the roles in his grand scheme of plans had changed. Now he no longer cared about Gwen Osborne because she was now a hindrance to him, a mere fly buzzing in his ear. Hyunseok was a shrewd man, justice would be served, he would find a way to demean and demote the noble Min-Dracwyns, he would humble them yet but not with the help of a clearly insolent, delusional child that had made the mistake of calling him out amidst the court.

The gavel dropped twice on the wood echoing.

‘Miss Osburne, this is your final warning,’

Lord Dracwyn looked at Hyunseok with amused suspicion. What was this new game the man was playing? And why was his son on their side? The same questions that swimmed around Hyunseok’s mind regarding this new friendship between their children also roamed in Charles’ head. The head of the Dracwyn House knew that for the haetae to side with the dragon was not without a price, because the animosity they had was insurmountable, dating centuries back to the Red War and it was inconceivable that Kim was doing so out of the goodness of his heart. There was something definitely afoot, what with the way the Kim Seokjin had willingly agreed to become witness for his grandchildren with no strings attached.

When a clearly agitated Clarke rested his cross examination, Jin’s testament was looking rock solid. The one evidence that they could rely on perhaps but there were still questions, mysterious events that did not add up.

‘Mr. Kim, if at all it was as you have said, what was the need to obliviate Ms. Osborne? Did you witness that? Who gave her the oblivian?’

‘I was unconscious by that time and I found myself in the infirmary being treated for exhaustion after enduring the Cruciatus curse more than three times.’

‘Was Miss Dracwyn there when you were in the infirmary? You said Miss Osborne attacked her as well.’

‘Yes she was.’ he replied.

‘So there is still a lot left to uncover from here.’ Perseus muttered under his breath in a carrying whisper. ‘You say you suffered the Cruciatus Curse. Any reason why you didn’t file an official complaint against Miss Osburne for it? ’

Hands sweating, Jin leaned slightly forward in his seat, ‘It’s not that easy is it? I knew Laura had to use some extreme and advanced curses to put Gwen down. There was no time to call the staff and there were no witnesses to confirm that Laura was actually defending herself and me, not just duelling Gwen for some kind of sadistic pleasure,’

‘Miss Dracwyn, did you obliviate Miss Osburne?’

Laura did not look up at the jury member who asked her that question. They were falling into a quagmire again. There were too many loopholes to all their stories. It was a collective decision that Snape’s involvement in this case would be kept a secret or he would lose any little credibility he had gained in front of the Ministry. It would then be Azkaban for their potions teacher and long time family friend. So she did what she had to.

‘Yes I obliviated her,’

The jury started their discussions again.

‘Of course they aren’t as innocent as they claim to be!’

‘How can we trust anyone’s words now,’

‘She had to be guilty if she felt the need to erase Osburne’s memories!’

Madam Bones posed her a question, ‘If Miss Osburne was in the wrong, why did you wipe her memories instead of reporting her?’

‘It was an action done without much thought. I will not deny the fact that I did not use severe curses against Gwen. Her medical records which her lawyer is showing every now and then is proof of that. But there was no guarantee that people would believe that I did all of that because Gwen attacked me like a rabid monster. So, to put the incident behind, I thought obliviating her was the right thing to do. Later Jin said he would stand witness if we complained about Gwen but we couldn’t because of my wrong decision,’

Hyunseok put his elbow on the dias and pinched his nose bridge. This case was going nowhere, swaying from one side to another. Everyone was weaving lies of their own to protect people they valued. How was the jury to announce a decision by the end of the day? This case looked like it would keep dragging inconclusively.

The side doors opened yet again and the trainee auror - Taemin entered, bringing in a stranger who was rather shabbily dressed for the courtroom. They were followed by Hawkworthe’s assistant lawyer and a Hogwarts students with her gaurdian. All the students look at them with surprise. Gwen’s heart felt stuck in her throat.

‘What is this?’ Hyunseok asked Hawkworthe.

Hawkworthe came to the front to face the jury ‘When Miss Osborne knew that she had not any witness to stand for her, she devised into manipulating those around her. One of the other victims of Ms. Osborne’s malice is Hoseok Jung who previously testified for the court. The injuries he had sustained and the disconcerting witness account were all due to these,’ Hawthorne placed a small bag of pills on the dias as he walked between the spaces. Lord Kim and most of the jury examined the tablets in the bag.

‘It is true that Mr. Jung used pills to help with his recovery, but his medication does not create hallucinations. These are clearly not his pills and the contents of it were found to be the contents of two befuddlement potions which cause confusion and hysteria. Also found were the remnants of what muggles call psychotic hallucinogens, this particular one being LSD,’ he pushed lists and tests and slips of paper unto the dias allowing them to examine the evidence closely.

While receiving the sheets, a front row witch wondered aloud, ‘Muggle drugs and potions? Did Miss Osborne make them?’

‘No, it was distributed by one Hector Browne,’ Hawkworthe pointed to the grubby man in the corner straining against Taemin even as his hands were bound. ‘Mr. Browne manufactures them. I think the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts department will be very interested to talk to Mr. Browne. Also not to mention, but this man is also pursued by the muggle law enforcement, otherwise known as the police.’

Hector Browne walked to the witness stand. He was a mousy looking man with fidgety mannerisms and wild green eyes. Though he was only in his early 20s, his face looked 10 years older and his messy brown hair stuck in all directions.

‘Mr. Browne these pills were manufactured by you?’ Hawkworthe asked, placing the pills in front of him.

‘Yes,’ Browne confessed nervously. He had been promised a shorter sentence if he cooperated, or it would be Azkaban for him. ‘They bear my symbol. They are one of the more expensive ones, since… the concentration is higher in these ones,’

‘And how is this product different from your regular ones?’

‘The regular ones, if consumed minimally, they will give you a high, creating mild illusions for amusement. They also keep your heart-rate up. But these pills, it creates hyper realistic hallucinations and adrenaline rushes,’

‘Did Miss Osburne ever purchase this drug from you?’

‘Yes. I only sell in person. And I… I was requested by mail to come by Hogsmeade to deliver these and she came to me…’ Browne looked at Gwen, his head jittering slightly. ‘This happened sometime last week,’

Clarke stood up. ‘Is there any proof of that other than the words of an illegal drug manufacturer and addict?’

‘Yes,’ Hawkworthe said. ‘Mr. Browne you can return to your seat. Ms. Jones, please take the stands,’

An auror dragged Browne down the stands as he continued to ask the Chief Warlock if the promise of a reduced sentence would be carried out.

The wide-eyed, freckled Merlyn Jones stepped out to the stand, nervous and fidgeting.

The under secretary asked her name and details in a monotone, Merlyn balked slightly wondering hazily if he were in a nightmare or not. Her father had come with her to court, looking as nervous as she was. The courtroom was familiar to Mr. Jones, after all he had spent a lot of time here begging for his release post the first wizarding war. He had managed to escape Azkaban by naming the Death Eaters he worked with and now, the flashbacks were almost giving him a panic attack. Merlyn could only think of the fierce faces of the students who had convinced her to take the stand after a lot of talking. If she told the truth the least that Jungkook, her House prefect, and Namjoon the Head Boy had promised to lessen the punishment from the school and the other man from the court who brought him here that all she had to do was repeat what he had already confessed to him. It wouldn’t put her in trouble, not like the kind Gwen would now be. They had promised she would be safe. And she held onto that lifeline and delved into Gwen Osborne’s true and chillingly precise plans to bring down the Min-Dracwyn.

‘... I had no choice but to go along with Osburne.’ The girl looked around once, eyes failing when faced with Dumbledore. ‘She threatened to use the cruciatus curse on me and leave me in the hands of Skoll the werewolf.’

Madam Bones exclaimed, ‘Skoll? The one that attacked Hogwarts in the first week of September?’

Merlyn swallowed, ‘Y-yes. Even after we learned Skoll was dead, she would threaten me. You have to understand, Gwen almost had me in- in a - bind. I felt so alone and threatened. She talked so openly of- of the Da- of  _You Know Who_  and  _Her_ , and bringing those who did not help death and pain. I- I was scared. I am sorry. Please dont expel me, it was a mistake.’ the girl broke down with dry heaving sobs.

She knew that helping Gwen any further would put her father in jail, her whole family on the streets humiliated, and she herself would be thrown out of Hogwarts without a promise of support. The lawyer and the prefects had warned her of that much. And if Merlyn was anything she was sure of surviving, she would have to get away.

‘Miss Jones,’ Hawkworthe walked forward, placing Hoseok’s orange bottle of pills in front of the witness stand, ‘Do you recognise these?’

Merlyn slowly nodded in fear.

‘What are they?’

‘That is Jung Hoseok’s medicine,’ she answered.

‘And how do you know that?’

‘Because I put some pills in it, without Jung’s knowledge,’ her words trembled as she spoke. ‘Gwen Osborne gave me some pills to switch with the ones in this bottle. They looked identical,’

‘When did you make the switch?’

‘The day after the frozen chamber incident took place in Hogwarts. She sent me a letter saying I had to make the switch right away,’

‘And do you know why she did so?’

‘I don’t know what those pills do. I had to sneak in and replace them while Hoseok was busy. So when his team was practicing quidditch, I made the switch in the changing room,’

‘Thank you Miss Jones, that will be all,’

Gwen’s cheeks were colourless and her lips were trapped in between her teeth being constantly bit on as Clarke’s heavy hand on her shoulder kept her glued to her seat. To her chagrin, her very own subordinate, her pawn was speaking against her. Her case was breaking apart right in front of her very eyes, as soon as that damned Seokjin had walked in. Her voice rang out, ‘I refuse to stand by while they build such lies on my name. They are lying, they are Laura’s and Yoongi’s SNAKES,’

‘Miss Osborne, sit down.’ Hyunseok ordered.

‘Osborne lied...’

‘...she drugged the witness...’

‘...it makes sense now…’

‘Miss Jones, has Miss Osborne ever spoken about the Min-Dracwyns with you?’

Merlyn answered, ‘She has often expressed her displeasure at the importance and popularity that the Slytherin prefects held. I believe she was jealous,’

‘What do you think is Kim Taehyung’s involvement in all this?’

‘I don’t know why Gwen would target him,’

‘Has he ever displayed exceptional magic in school?’

The girls’ eyes landed on Taehyung sat by the far side. He was looking straight at her, eyes and jaws set hard. She had never seen him look this intimidating, it was like he was almost challenging her, to see if she sold him out or did the right thing. She looked up at the jury again, ‘He - ,’ she hesitates for a moment, a prolonged stretch as she decided her words. ‘Taehyung is in my class, and I have seen him struggle with the simplest of spells. But h- he is al-,’ the girl stops altogether looking down at the tiles, black and white. ‘Gwen Osburne is a liar, is all I can say. And she used me.’ Jones finishes.

Gwen felt like an animal trapped in a cage, with little or no escape. Her eyes searched landing on several people at once who were looking at her accusingly. Jin eyeballed her, sending her his most threatening weapon, his smile. Gwen Osborne felt the bitter taste of being used as a pawn in her own game.

Clarke added, ‘The respondent is trying to defame my client, Chief Warlock.’

‘Do you wish to cross examine the witness?’

The man nodded but the cross examination led to more confusion and yielded very little result. Clarke was losing steam, as he hit nowhere with the witnesses. It was Clarke’s only hope that the Min-Dracwyns would make a slip of tongue, but as his vision quickly darted past the them, he knew he was going to lose. These were dragons of lore he was trying to go against and suddenly in their glare he felt like a puny human of no importance.

‘No more questions your honour,’ Clarke says in a small voice, taking his seat next to Gwen.

‘If there is nothing more to present, the jury will declare their verdict now,’ Madam Bones spoke over the whispers. A silence fell on the whole courtroom. Jin sat up straight, eyes trained at his father who was engrossed in the most important discussion with the Wizengamot. Yoongi and Laura held their breath, waiting for her to speak further. Taehyung’s eyes stared at the evidences on both sides of the Chief Warlock’s dias - Gwen’s medical reports, Bellatrix’s letters, statements of Jeffrey and Derreck, previous records of Twycross’ statements stating Min-Dracwyns conspiring with DEath Eaters. The other side had the newer evidences of Browne’s pills, Hoseok’s medical records and the statements of Jin, Merlyn, Browne and Taehyung. Was that enough? Or would they investigate him further, pick him apart while he sits here under their scrutinising gazes, reliving all the worst memories of his life.

‘After reviewing the witness statements and the credibility of these witnesses,’ Bones continued. ‘The court has come to the decision that further investigation will be held regarding Miss Gwen Obsurne’s actions. Until a result is produced, Miss Osburne is suspended from Hogwarts and is under Ministry custody.’

Gwen ground her teeth, fingernails digging into the wooden armrest of her chair. She did not care about the Ministry custody, all she wanted to hear was they were taking Taehyung too. She needed them to know, needed the world to know what he is. They must investigate him.

‘Further,’ Kim Hyunseok spoke, ‘The accusations of bullying and harassments against Yoongi Min and Laura Dracwyn… and the claims of Kim Taehyung harbouring special powers do not hold solid ground. The Wizengamot clears the three of them of all suspicion,’

‘The court is dismissed,’ he pounded the gavel twice.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - A Lion’s Legacy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl76ev2GNdE&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic) _

A victorious smile emerged on the lips of the Min-Dracwyn's the same time Gwen Osburne cried in shock.

The Wizengamot stood up from their seats started to disperse. Kim Hyunseok’s eyes lingered on Charles Dracwyn who was looking back at him with similar intensity.

Jiyeon smiled wide, hugging her son, but Taehyung did not reciprocate. He sat lifelessly, only nodding at Dumbledore who’s eyes twinkled in victory at him.

Averil stood up and hugged both Yoongi and Laura together, looking so happy that she could cry. She looked at Jin who was standing to the side and hugged him as well, taking everyone by surprise.

‘Thank you so much,’ she said to him. ‘We never could have thought… your words counted the most,’

‘It was the right thing to do,’ Jin said, giving her a smile.

‘YOU BITCH!’ They heard a shriek voice and turned to see two Aurors holding Gwen back from Laura. ‘YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS! YOU WILL PAY WITH BLOOD!’

Yoongi walked forward to face her, ignoring his parents who motioned him to stay put but that was not in Yoongi’s nature when he was provoked. He stood in front of her, smiling.

‘Hope you remember this smile if you think of going against us ever again,’ he said, an eerie joy on his face. Gwen knew what that meant. It was a common saying among the Slytherins, passed through the generations of students. Animals often bared their teeth as a sign of aggression when they were provoked. And in case of a Slytherin, when they smiled in anger, it was a omnious thing. It meant those clenched jaws can and will rip apart your yielding throat.

Gwen’s voice was caught in her breath. She heaved heavily, trying to break free of the hands holding her tightly.

‘Take her away,’ Kim Hyunseok said, looking away from what a liability Gwen had become.

‘YOU TURNCLOAK! YOU PROMISED TO HELP US!’ She yelled at Hyunseok who shot her an angry look. Gwen’s mother came in front of her, trying to block her vision of everything around her so that she would stop making things worse.

‘Gwen shut up right now!’ She hissed. ‘There's enough damage done,’

‘YOU ARE ALL FOOLS!’ She yelled and kicked as the Aurors took her away with her father and lawyer. ‘HE IS MARTAEUS’ SON! MARTAEUS AQUIRYS!’

‘Take her away!’ Kim Jiyeon’s voice rang sharply towards her Auror subordinates. ‘Take her before I slam defamation charges on her and her entire family as well,’

And soon Gwen’s voice was fading into the other room and no one seemed to be paying any attention to her words.

‘Let’s go,’ Charles Dracwyn said to his family. ‘I don't wish to stay here a moment longer,’

Jin glanced at Taehyung standing with his mother and Dumbledore, and the boy did not reflect the look of relief and happiness. Taehyung looked back at Jin, hurt and resentment peeking from his expressionless, hard face.

The cousins turned to Jin, holding out their hand which he shook in turns.

‘Thank you Jin,’ Yoongi said. Jin nodded and then looked at the door. ‘You should go first. I don't think my father would be thrilled if my involvement got too public,’

The cousins nodded at him and then turned to the main door, straightening their clothes. The Min-Dracwyn family walked out proudly and as soon the great oak doors opened, their eyes were met with flashes of white light, the incoherent noise of journalists asking them questions. They silently walked through, their heads held high and proud, guarded by Aurors on both sides. At the Atrium, Charles turned to the journalists to give one statement and photo for the press, both his grandchildren by his side.

They were black and white on the front page of the Daily Prophet, looking proud, smiling slightly for the camera and then turning away.

**MIN-DRACWYN EMERGE VICTORIOUS**

**Complainant Burned by the Dragon’s Wrath**

Jungkook held the newspaper tight in his palms, unable to stop his smile. He ran to the Slytherin table and almost jumped at Jimin making him cough into his apple juice.

‘Kookie!’ He exclaimed and found the Daily Prophet being pushed into his face. Ash peered in curiously from his side.

‘They're free!’ Jungkook said, gleaming. ‘They’ll be back soon!’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH WELL FINALLY!!! FINALLY! WE ALL CAN BREATHE EASY!
> 
> Oh gosh... this was quite a difficult journey, writing this. *I swear court cases are so so sooooooo tough to write. There are so many possibilities and information to cover*
> 
> WE CAN FINALLY GO BACK TO HOGWARTS IN PEACE! *I hope TaeTae's anger subsides SOON. That boy wields ice but his anger burns like fire*
> 
> So I was curious to know one thing, how did you all come across this fanfic? Was it through twitter or did you look it up one day on Ao3? Or did someone recommend? Did it just show up on your feed or home page? Let me know in your comments or you can even tell me here > [Twitter Poll](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1099374890732437504?s=20)


	6. Come Back Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***apparates from the future***
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Hello 'tis me, come back from writing Part 3, because finally I have something solid on the music themes for some of the characters. Please see the end notes for the themes.

_Watch[ Stigma FMV ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEDFE-dzx6c&ab_channel=NolwennVadelorge) _

Taehyung quietly sat on the banks of the Great Lake. It was around 4 o’ clock in the morning and he liked these few moments of twilight before the first light of dawn turned the sky from a lilac to blue. He had come back from the Ministry premises at nearly midnight and Dumbledore had decided it was better he did not enter the castle until later in the day. They did not want the students associating his ‘emergency home visit’ with the trial.

The cool breeze on his face was soothing. Anyone else would have shivered in this weather. They were well into autumn now. With October crossed halfway, the trees had started to change to their warmer hues and soon all of them would be dead leaves on the ground.

Hogwarts had always been a home away from home for Taehyung. But now he felt caged. He didn't know if he had a home anymore, whether it was Hogwarts or his grandmother’s old house where he lived with his parents. He felt he suddenly did not belong anywhere. All those memories belonged to another Taehyung- an innocent, naive Taehyung who believed in everyone, who could never think of harming anyone, a Taehyung who could find happiness even if things around him weren’t to his favour.

That Taehyung was now dead.

No matter how much he tried, he wasn’t able to reach back to his old self. He looked into the surface of the water, trying to force a smile on his face but his muscles wouldn't move. He missed that old Taehyung, missed him dearly and it made him want to cry.

Because what he felt right now was guilt, anger, betrayal, loneliness and distrust.

Dumbledore thought there was still some way to save him. That's what the headmaster implied when he came to rescue him from the forest. Placing the seal back on Taehyung wasn’t easy after the way his powers had just burst out of him. Taehyung wasn’t exactly a child anymore and his powers weren't at a nascent stage. It had only been growing stronger in him, waiting for a trigger to be unleashed. One could not remove his powers from him, that was impossible. His powers were in his blood, his very being. Mulciber, the old wizard who had sealed his powers earlier, his skills in level with wizards like Grindelwald and Dumbledore. Dumbledore had tried to seal his powers with the same spells that Mulciber used, but Dumbledore believed that sealing it with as much force as Mulciber did would be damaging, now that Taehyung knew the extent of his powers. Dumbledore made him feel that he will have to accept this new development. Denying it will not help.

He knew Jin would have needed something strong to convince his father to let the Min-Dracwyns win so that Taehyung could be safe. What did he have to give up? It would've been far from small.

He was aware of the consequences Yoongi and Laura would face if they lost the case. He also knew what their lawyer was trying to do to save them. He was trying to throw Taehyung in the limelight because both Yoongi and Laura refused to speak the truth about his powers to the Ministry. If they had, they would've won the case for sure. Instead they took a risk, all for his sake.

That was a guilt he had to bear with as well and he didn't know how much more he could bear. He felt like he was reaching his limit.

Maybe this wouldn't have happened if the people who cared for him trusted him as well. Why did they hide this truth from him? He would've prepared himself if something like this were to happen. Even when Gwen was targeting him, Jin didn't tell him the truth. Jin had witnessed his powers last semester in the dungeons. Even when Laura found out, they didn't think of letting him in on his own secret. His mother, who knew him the best chose to hide it from him too. These were people Taehyung trusted a lot.

If he knew… maybe all of this would've been avoided. Did they think he wasn't strong enough to hear the truth? All those voices in the court spoke the truth didn't they? He was not a strong wizard, not powerful enough. They couldn't believe a talented Auror could have such a slow and dumb son, who fumbled with basic spells. He was weak, defenceless, unable to protect himself from the bullies. Everytime he had to depend on others to come and rescue him. He clenched his fists till his knuckles were white, the bones appearing like they will tear out of his flesh.

He breathed deeply, trying to hold in the tears. He saw the first rays of sunlight fall on the lake waters, making it shimmer like silver beads dancing on its surface. He had to wear his mask of normalcy now. Mould a pretty lie and pretend to the whole school like nothing had happened.

*

‘They should be awake right? It’s almost time for breakfast,’ Yoongi asked his cousin as he stifled a yawn. Both were back in Hogwarts and heading to their common room. All the stress of the past few days showed on Laura’s face but Yoongi’s skin somehow glowed, even though he had yawned at least 15 times since he had woken up. Yoongi looked at the blank dark wall and spoke the password.

The moment they entered, a dark haired bean ran towards them.

‘YOU ARE HERE!’ Jimin jumped at them excitedly, hugging Yoongi first. The others thought the prefect would smack him for this open display of affection but Yoongi hugged him back, ruffling his hair.

‘Yeah, we are here!’ He said to Jimin and his eyes found Vanessa who was standing behind Jimin. She heaved a sigh of relief and hugged her two friends.

‘I hope it’s all over now,’ Vanessa hugged them tight. ‘I hope Gwen never steps a foot near you all again,’

‘Welcome back!’ Yoongi heard Ash’s voice and all looked to the front to see Ash with a bandaged ankle.

‘Ash!’ Laura pushed through everyone to hug her roommate. ‘Oh my god I missed you! How are you feeling?’

‘I'm much better! I can sleep in the dorm now that you are back!’ She said. ‘We should head for breakfast soon. We only have 20 minutes for classes to start,’

‘You guys go ahead. I… I’ll see you later?’ Yoongi said, seeming a bit embarrassed.

‘Where you off to?’ Jimin was all curious, grey eyes big and sparkly.

‘I need to see someone,’ And Yoongi set off before his friends could ask him further questions. He could already feel their suspicious and teasing glares.

Yoongi walked through the Great Hall but couldn’t find Hoseok on the Hufflepuff table. He asked Leslie, one of the Hufflepuff prefects and she shrugged as well, saying Hoseok had actually gone in search of Yoongi upon hearing that they’ve returned victorious from the court trial. So Yoongi headed back to the Slytherin corridor, only to be told that Hoseok had come and gone looking for him. Yoongi chewed on his bottom lip, hands resting on his waist. This seemed to be a never ending chase and Hogwarts was a maze. He checked out a few other places, the infirmary, the Great Hall again, the courtyard and even the club room Hoseok and his friends use. But it seemed like both were chasing each other in a circle.

Continuing the search, Yoongi came across one of the unused classrooms he had frequented once upon a time with Vanessa. Now, there was an old, unused piano sitting against one of the walls. The room seemed to have been converted into the storage for the Hogwarts choir and band.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Shin Myungsoo - Love Yourself Highlight Reel 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemgn4AkFwI&ab_channel=RYUSERALOVER) _

He quietly walked in, the ancient instrument drawing him towards it. Even in it’s old state, the piano looked regal, ornate brass fittings in it’s wooden casing. Yoongi blew the dust over the keys and pressed one. The sound wasn’t crystal clear but was good enough. He hadn’t played in a very long time. His mother had taught him the instrument when he was 8 years old and he was very passionate about it till he turned 13. And then, it just sort of faded away. He even remembered composing some melodies of his own, though that was a well kept secret of his. He hadn’t shown it to anyone. Some he wrote down, some melodies just flowed into him naturally, coming and going in the moment. He wondered if he still had that ability.

So Yoongi put his fingertips on the white keys, pressing them down experimentally, until the movement of his fingers found a rhythm and now they moved around, forming a melody of its own. Sometimes he pressed a wrong key, but he was gradually getting a better grip at it and he looped his melody, playing with better flow.

‘I didn’t know you played.’

Yoongi stopped abruptly at the voice and looked back. Jung Hoseok leaned on the door frame, beautiful lips stretched in a warm smile. Yoongi felt heat rush to his ears at being caught playing, something he never did in front of people. He didn’t feel uncomfortable, he just felt curious if Hoseok liked what he played. But his skills were rusty so he wondered if he had just embarrassed himself. ‘I just…’ he turned to the front, ‘I used to… as a kid. I’m no good anymore,’

‘Are you kidding?’ Hoseok sat next to him on the bench and now Yoongi’s ears burned in a different way. He had waited for this so long, to be in Hoseok’s presence once again. ‘What I heard sounded nice. I liked it,’ said the Hufflepuff.

‘Did you?’ Yoongi looked up wide eyed. Hoseok felt his breath caught in his chest at that sight. Yoongi’s features turned soft, almost like a fluffy kitten. His eyes were big, sparkling, milky cheeks puffed and a pout on his pink lips. Not to forget that little button nose. This indeed was a whole other side to Min Yoongi, someone so soft and delicate and you’d want to hug them, keep them close to your chest, probably tuck them warm inside your sweater, your arms wrapped around them and shield them from the world.

Hoseok was probably visualising all that, eyes going over Yoongi’s beautiful face because the older looked away, pout growing prominent.

‘You didn’t answer, you I guess you’re bluffing,’

‘What?’ Hoseok’s voice went high and he cleared his throat as he heard him himself, ‘No! I’m not bluffing! I was just… thinking,’

‘Thinking what?’

‘Thinking that I’m really glad you came back. I’m glad you and your cousin were proved innocent. And I’m so grateful that you all protected Tae to the end. That’s really… so brave and selfless. I can’t even express how much I appreciate that,’

Yoongi shook his head like he wasn’t able to believe all his words, but there was a shy smile on his lips, the milky cheeks turned pink.

‘Ok, can you teach me a bit of this?’ Hoseok asked, tapping a finger on a key. ‘Teach me a scale. Or Octave, I don’t know the terminology,’

‘Have you ever learned music?’ Yoongi asked.

‘No, but let me give it a try,’

‘Ok. So I’ll teach you the most basic scale,’

Yoongi demonstrated and Hoseok followed, all but for 2 minutes. Soon the Hufflepuff got over enthusiastic, claiming he could compose as well and tried to sing along, which only made Yoongi throw his head back in laughter because at this point, Hoseok was making his own sound effects and then singing like a banshee. Yoongi was almost falling off the bench in laughter. He clutched to Hoseok’s arm to balance himself and sat straighter, wiping the corners of his eye from the tears of mirth. Hoseok helped him up, holding his shoulder and laughed with him, but a bit languidly because his eyes were trained at Yoongi’s face, his gummy smile and the sound of his laughter. It warmed Hoseok’s chest. He wanted to make Yoongi laugh like this over and over again.

‘Remember the last time we were in this room?’ Hoseok asked. He didn’t know why he was bringing that up right now. Maybe the affection he was feeling for Yoongi prompted him to get some answers to questions that hadn’t fully formed in his mind yet.

Yoongi slowly stopped laughing and nodded his head, ‘I remember,’ the memory made him guilty, the memory of him kissing his ex girlfriend and Hoseok accidentally catching them.

‘I’m still sorry I walked in on you like that,’

‘It’s ok honestly, it’s all in the past now,’

‘So are you and Vanessa good now? Are you speaking to her normally?’

‘Yeah, we’re good,’ Yoongi nodded. ‘She’s still my friend,’

‘But you still look guilty,’ Hoseok said. ‘I remember you said you… let her go. Do you regret it?’

‘I don’t regret it,’ Yoongi replied, fingers fidgeting on his lap. ‘I just wish… I wasn’t such a horrible person and put her through that pain,’

‘You’re not a horrible person. I don’t know what happened but I can bet you didn’t hurt her intentionally,’

‘It’s not that simple,’ Yoongi ran a hand through his hair. ‘It wasn’t something unintentional… but it happened. She’s an angel so she forgave me. She deserves someone so much better. Someone thoughtful, caring, someone who can make anyone laugh, even someone who’s crying. Like how you do. You’ll be a good boyfriend you know. It all just… looks so natural in you,’

Hoseok was silent for a few moments, his brown eyes blinking at Yoongi, comprehending all that he said. ‘You… you think all that of me?’ he asked softly. ‘You think… I’ll be a good boyfriend?’

The moment those words left Hoseok’s lips, they could feel the heat rise in the space between them. Heated with their feelings, heated with their questions and confessions. Yoongi nodded shyly.

Hoseok bit his lip before asking the second question. ‘Then…’ he exhaled. ‘Can I… be all that for you?’ He asked before he could think it over a second time and chicken out. Yoongi looked up, with those same, soft big eyes. Hoseok held his breath, unable to speak further. His eyes darted around for a few seconds while his mind decided. No he wasn’t backing away. He had started to realise that he held a special spot for Yoongi since a few years. And when Yoongi was taken by the Ministry, he realised it may not be just a soft spot. Whenever Yoongi was near him, he felt this strong urge to hold his hand, hug him, talk to him about just anything and hear the details of his day. Of course, they never did that but Hoseok would’ve liked to. And Hoseok had missed him so dearly these 3 days.

So now here he was, sitting close to Yoongi, hearing and loving his laughter, knowing that he indeed liked this boy. He liked him very much. And maybe it was worth a shot. If Yoongi said no, Hoseok will back away, try his best to maintain a friendship. But he wanted to know once and for all.

‘You want to be all that to me?’ Yoongi asked, an innocence to his voice.

‘If you’ll have me. You said I’ll make a good boyfriend,’ Hoseok’s heart thudded against his rib cage and he thought it was a miracle that Yoongi couldn’t hear it. Little did he know that Yoongi was thinking the same, his own heartbeat thumping till his fingertips.

The blonde smiled shyly again, looking down, gummy smile on full display. His pale skin had never been this blushed.

‘If you’re smiling,’ Hoseok tried his best to suppress his giggle, ‘Should I… take that as a-’

The school bell rang loudly, making both of them jump. Never before had Hoseok wanted to curse Argus Filch as much as right now.

‘I… want to be all that for you too,’ Yoongi’s tone was so bashful that it took all of Hoseok’s self control not to pull him into a crushing hug.

‘So… yes?’ Hoseok asked.

‘Yes,’ Yoongi nodded and both giggled airily, eyes glancing at each other but too shy to remain locked.

‘Wait, it’s Transfiguration for me right now. McGonagall will threaten to turn me into a watch again if I’m late,’

‘It’s Transfiguration for me too,’ Yoongi said, standing up. He held out his hand for Hoseok, ‘Shall we go?’

The Hufflepuff placed his hand, slowly, letting his fingers slide in and curve around Yoongi’s palm firmly, ‘Let’s go,’

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[BTS - Pied Piper Instrumental](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgYT-TNyuOQ&ab_channel=seokjinnie) _

After breakfast, the three Slytherin girls Ash, Laura and Vanessa headed to their classes. Vanessa had herbology and left for the Greenhouses meanwhile Laura and Ash had Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. Jimin offered to be Ash’s support in climbing the stairs. The moment Laura entered the class, she felt people avert their eyes from her and the chatter died down to whispers.

‘She tortured her friend?’

‘And that junior boy, Taehyung too,’

She ignored the stink eye looks from some of the Hufflepuffs and took her usual table. As she kept her books down, she noticed a blue lollipop kept on her table, a small bow tied on it.

Blueberry Blast…

A smile creeped up on her lips without her realising it. She twirled the lollipop in her hand, feeling a contentment of sorts, warming her chest, replacing the anger she felt towards her classmates.

‘Why are you smiling?’ Yoongi was beside her. She looked up startled.

‘Huh? What?’

‘What are you smiling about?’ He asked again, slower this time.

‘I’m not smiling,’

‘You are?’

‘Oh… am I? I don't know, there's nothing on my mind,’ she said, putting the Blueberry lollipop in her robes and opening up her books quickly.

Yoongi frowned, but he was too preoccupied with thoughts of Hoseok to contemplate on what was going on. His eyes hadn't missed what she had put into her robes though.  _That candy sure has become her favourite one…_

‘Anyways, I’m changing partners so get yourself a new one,’ he said to her and Laura looked at him in mild surprise.

‘What do you mean changing partners, the new assignment has already started and-’

But Yoongi had already moved to a table where Hoseok waited for him with a big smile. A few of the Hufflepuffs stared at them as he stood next to Hoseok and that just made him move closer to the boy with a challenging look to the questioning stares. They averted their eyes and looked back into their textbooks.

Laura tried concentrating in class but for some reason her mind kept going to the blue candy tucked in her robe pocket. Had Jungkook kept that for her? But why would he? It was probably to tease her. That's what he had being doing from the first time he had shoved that candy in her face.

 _He's an Idiot…_  she smiled again. She wondered where he was, she hadn't seen him since she got back in the morning. He was usually the one to announce his presence with loud antics. And she would never accept it out loud, but she felt some gratitude towards him for helping in the trial in whatever way he could. He helped in convincing Merlyn Jones to testify against Gwen. He helped figure out Hoseok’s switched pills. He really did a lot. She would’ve never imagined that Jungkook would be on her side.

The next class for her was Advanced Runes. She was walking by the third floor corridor, the lollipop in her mouth and her eyes found Jungkook, who had his big nose with his round glasses buried in his potions book, unaware to the world.

A smirk crept up her lips and she changed her course, walking past him, brushing her arm with his.

The beloved scent of lilies and frankincense hit Jungkook and he stopped in his steps, turning to look at the person walking away, the person he had missed more than expected in the past week.

‘Hey!’ He called out and Laura turned, the blueberry lollipop on her lips. His breath hitched instantly. He walked towards her and this time Laura didn't try and hide the candy. She pulled it out of her mouth, sucking it from her lips for just a fraction of a second.

 _Fuck…_  Jungkook bit his lower lips slightly averting his eyes immediately. ‘This is your favourite candy after all’ he said with a victorious smirk.

‘Not really… it was a gift and.. I like gifts,’ her eyebrows arched up like she didn't care.

‘Oh really? Well, if you don't like it then you can give it to me,’ his footsteps closed the distance between them, brown eyes holding her in place and Laura felt her stomach flutter. His gaze was making her lose her guard.

‘But it's my gift,’ she protested in a whisper.

‘You sure? Or are you lying again?’

‘I’m not lying,’ but they both knew that she was.

‘Then what’s the problem?’ his hand reached out, closing on her fingers holding the lollipop stick. ‘You really don’t want to part with it,’ he tugged on her hand with more force than he intended to, pulling her towards himself and Laura wasn’t prepared for that pull. Heck she wasn’t prepared for anything that Jungkook was doing right now.

Her body jerked forward from the pull, towards Jungkook and for a moment her forehead bumped on his chest and he staggered back as well, the sudden realization of what he had done, coming upon him. To her surprise, he smelled quite nice, like a freeing, cool ocean breeze, just a bit sweet and citrusy. She hadn’t expected that either and the flutters in her stomach intensified as if someone was tickling her on the insides. He caught her by the arm as both tried to steady themselves. Jungkook instantly let go of her, bringing his hands to his sides where he wished he could stick them before they started acting on their own again. He looked away, face evidently heating up.

Laura was the one to break the awkward silence ‘W-was it… you? Who kept this… on my table?’ she asked in a very shy voice and Jungkook’s stomach flipped again. How was she doing this? She could burn him red hot one moment with her challenging gazes, and then would show him these briefest moments of softness. He was blushing so bad that he couldn’t even look at her. And why was she asking him this? How was he to say that ‘yes it was me’. He was already embarrassed to death right now.

‘Since you are so smart, why don’t you figure it out on your own,’ he murmured, running a hand through his dark hair.

Laura’s blushing shy face turned into a scowl. ‘Well…’ her voice shivered slightly as it got shrill. ‘Obviously not you. You aren’t nice enough to gift anyone anything,’ she said to mask her own embarrassment.

‘Laura!’ Jimin called from the other end of the corridor. ‘Could you come to the Great Hall. You too Kookie,’

Both were glad that Jimin decided to show up because their emotions were getting a bit too worked up. They followed Jimin to the doors of the Great Hall. Ash, Vanessa and Yoongi were sitting on the Slytherin table while a dark haired man stood near the Ravenclaw table, talking to Professor Flitwick.

‘Is that your brother?’ Jungkook asked Jimin who nodded.

‘He came to submit some papers from Shacklebolt to Dumbledore. I wanted you to meet him before he left and he also wanted to see Laura,’

‘Oh! He did?’ Laura’s voice seemed higher, eyes looking eagerly at Taemin and something burned inside Jungkook at the whole situation. He came and stood with the rest of the Slytherins, arms crossed over his chest.

‘You look ALOT like your brother Jimin,’ Ash said.

Jimin nodded, smiling wide and they noticed that both brothers had the same beautiful smile which could make anyone’s day better.

‘When did your brother become an Auror?’ Jungkook asked Jimin.

‘He recently cleared the exams. He scored the highest and is now training under Shacklebolt!’ Jimin said excitedly.

‘Oh… nice,’ his eyes went to Laura who had her hand outstretched, giving a very graceful wave to Taemin. Jungkook repositioned himself discreetly, so it looked like he had turned to speak to Jimin when in reality he was blocking Laura’s line of sight. Laura’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance seeing the broad shouldered figure of Jungkook filling her vision, his eyes on Jimin and pressing his tongue to his cheek.

 _What is his problem?_ She wondered scowling.

Jungkook looked back and saw Taemin walk towards them with a smile. The moment he stood next to Jungkook, the younger drew himself to his full height, his usual mask of confidence back on his face.

‘Taeminah!’ Jimin hugged him tight. Taemin ruffled his hair and everyone there could see the mirrored smiles. ‘How's Auror life?’

‘Well, lots of action until now with this whole Hogwarts case. And Shacklebolt is amazing. Seriously, he is the best teacher I could ask for. I heard you made the Quidditch team! Keeping the legacy going huh?’ Taemin playfully punched his brother’s arm. The young Auror moved with the grace of an angel, a fluidity unseen in any human.

‘You were on the team too?’ Jungkook asked.

‘Why do you think Slytherin won the Quidditch cup 3 years in a row before we joined? It was because of Taemin! He holds the record for the fastest player till date in all of Hogwarts!’ Jimin beamed but Taemin waved his hands embarrassingly, looking down as his cheeks turned pink.

 _Fastest player huh…_ Jungkook looked like he was mentally gearing up to break that record.

‘It's all teamwork!’ Taemin said.

‘What Jimin said is true! I've heard enough from my seniors and I believe it,’ Laura said, giving a smile. Jungkook couldn't believe his eyes. She never smiled like that for others! Maybe once at Jimin and Ash but not for some other guy!

‘Taeminah,’ Jimin’s tone turned gentle as he tugged Ash by the hand. His cheeks had turned tomato red and Taemin didn't need an explanation as to who Jimin was introducing to him.

‘This is Ash Vorhart,’ he said shyly. Taemin gave him a knowing glance and held out his hand to Ash.

‘It's an absolute pleasure to meet you Ash,’ he gracefully shook her hand, enclosing her small palm in both of his and bowing just slightly.

 _Princely indeed…_ Jungkook inferred as he side eyed Taemin.

‘Pleased to meet you too!’ Ash replied with a charming smile.

‘Well I should get going then. Shacklebolt will wonder where I've disappeared,’ he said. ‘Really glad I got to meet you Jiminnie,’ he ruffled his hair again. ‘Please visit us soon,’ he said to Vanessa and the cousins. ‘You too Jungkook! It's high time you visit us! Jimin talks so much about you at home! Mom would love to meet you!’ He held out his hand to shake and Jungkook took it politely, and even though he didn’t love it at the moment, but he could understand the charm that the Auror held. He had met Taemin once long ago in his 2nd year or so. He knew Taemin had always been super nice but these affectionate gazes from Laura towards him were itching Jungkook.

Taemin lightly held Laura’s arm and nodded a goodbye at her. Finally he shook hands with Yoongi and then left. But Laura’s eyes were still gazing at him.

‘Laura I think you are starting to get a soft spot for Taemin,’ Vanessa teased.

‘Well… it won't be too bad if I did,’ Laura agreed and Jungkook’s eyebrows looked like they would disappear into his hairline.

‘So do you take it back?’ Ash asked. ‘That there's no guy worth kissing in Hogwarts?’

‘Well technically he's not from Hogwarts,’

‘You know it wouldn't be so bad if you dated my brother,’ Jimin said to Laura.

‘Hey don't go around saying stuff like that!’ Laura mockingly glared. ‘I don't like your brother. He's just… nice,’

‘Yeah sure,’ Vanessa coughed.

‘But it will be so good! We can be like a big family then!’ Jimin added and his sly eyes just briefly glanced at Jungkook to see his reaction. Jimin wasn’t disappointed. Jungkook was hardly an expert at hiding his feelings.

Jungkook pursed his lips. Jimin was his friend and he should be rooting for him, not playing for the other side. But for that Jimin had to know what Jungkook felt for Laura and the golden boy would rather scrub the halls with Filch for a week than let another soul know that he has started to grow a special soft spot for his arch nemesis. No, that would be the end of him. The school’s chatter came secondary, his own friends will not let him breathe in peace. They will tease him till he buries his head underground like an ostrich. And soon the news will reach Laura and he didn't even want to think about the consequences of that. What would she even think of him? Her pride would swell till the sky then… her arch nemesis was secretly falling of her. No, he couldn't ever show it but he feared his self control which was failing him every now and then. He felt his chest tighten at all these thoughts and emotions. Laura’s smile at Ash and Vanessa was only making his heart beat faster and he knew he couldn't stay in her presence anymore. He turned to Jimin with a scowl.

‘Well your  _other_  family is waiting now!’ Jungkook said, grabbing hold of Jimin’s arm. ‘Namjoon's been asking for you non stop. Please go give him the weekly dose of your cuteness,’

He dragged a confused Jimin away from all of them as the Slytherins wondered what had gotten into him suddenly.

*

The day passed by without further events, and all were immensely grateful for it. The only curious development everyone noticed was the heart eyes Yoongi and Hoseok seemed to be giving each other. Jimin was even sure he saw them briefly hold hands. If the Hufflepuffs were having a class with Slytherins, then the two would act like they were attached at the hip. Yoongi’s shy giggles were just too obvious. At one point, Laura pursed her lip and cocked an eyebrow, demanding Yoongi tell her but her brother just waved his hand, dismissing all silent questions.

It was past dinner time but Jimin and Jungkook still hadn’t seen Taehyung in the castle.

‘Is he back yet?’ Jungkook asked Hoseok for the 8th time outside the Hufflepuff common room and the boy shook his head.

‘I’m waiting for him too,’ Hoseok said, putting on his cloak like he was rearing to go somewhere.

‘And where are you off too? Isn’t it Slytherin’s turn to do the curfew rounds?’

‘It is,’ Hoseok said, avoiding eye contact while his lips tried to suppress a smile.

‘So…’ Jungkook was still looking for an answer.

‘I just have to say goodnight to someone,’ Hoseok said and was about to walk ahead when Jimin came jogging towards them.

‘Hobi, could you give this letter to Tae whenever he comes back?’

A certain nervousness took over Hoseok when he saw Jimin. Had Ash still not told him about what had happened? He gulped and took the letter from him. ‘Sure, I’ll… I’ll do that,’ and he moved ahead.

‘And Hobi?’ Jimin called for him again and the Hufflepuff turned back.

‘Yoongi is on the 2nd floor, East wing right now,’ Jimin winked. Hoseok chuckled airily and nodded, setting off to a fast pace. Jimin was his best friend… he had to come clear about everything soon. But first he had to face Ash and ask for her forgiveness. It was a colossal task for him, how would he face her after what he put her through?

 

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - See You For What You Are](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A8Iarf8lSY) _

Taehyung returned to the castle just past dinner. But when he entered the castle, the presence of any other human being made him feel crowded. The castle walls felt like a cage. He walked along the ground floor pathways towards his common room.

‘Tae?’

The boy found Jin waiting for him by the kitchen corridor. Warm light from the wall lanterns highlighted his furrowed features. Taehyung did not reply back and walked past him.

‘Tae there’s something I need to tell you,’

Tae halted. ‘What’s to tell when everything is over?’

‘I can understand that you are angry with me. Please give me another chance,’

Taehyung’s jaw worked. Honestly, he did not feel like having this conversation right now. When he didn’t respond, Jin spoke further.

‘You aren’t talking to your mother either. You never gave her a chance to explain,’

‘She had years to explain it to me. But you all saw only a child. An incapable child who cannot handle the truth,’

Jin sighed, realised Taehyung was not seeing past his fury right now. Maybe talking is not going to help right now, Jin could see that the stoic expression of his once smiling friend. He put his hand in the pocket of his robes and removed a small vial which glowed lightly in the darkness of the pathway. The younger’s eyes moved to the source of silvery light.

‘Your mother met me after the trial,’ Jin said. ‘Because you wouldn’t speak to her, she has no option but to show you what actually happened. Maybe then you’ll also believe her better, because these are  _her_  memories,’

Taehyung didn’t want to speak to Jin but he would be lying if he wasn’t tempted to know everything about the past... about his father.

‘She also told me…’ Jin exhaled, ‘That the Min-Dracwyns should see this as well. You are safe now because of them and earlier, you were kept safe from You-Know-Who because of a Dracwyn as well,’

Taehyung’s eyes widened slightly at that.

‘But, if you don’t want anyone else to see it, then here,’ Jin held out the vial for him. ‘We won’t invade into things you don’t want us to. Just remember, we’ll be here for you,’

Taehyung took the vial carefully, turning it in his hand, thinking hard. He was angry with them no doubt. But he still owed them alot. They had saved him from harm countless number of times now.

‘Alright,’ he nodded, ‘Call them,’

A few minutes later, the Slytherin cousins met up with Taehyung, Namjoon and Jin in the clubroom.

‘Hey,’ Yoongi greeted them though Taehyung was not meeting anyone’s eye and he wondered why. ‘What's this about?’

Jin gestured towards a silver basin like object kept on the desk.

‘Where in the world did you get a Pensieve from?’ Yoongi asked. ‘Do you own one?’

‘Borrowed it from Flitwick,’ Jin said.

‘More like stole it temporarily,’ Namjoon added nervously. ‘Jin if I lose my Head Boy badge, it’s on you,’

‘Relax,’ Jin rolled his eyes, ‘The entire school loves you to death they’ll never punish you,’

‘And why do we need a Pensieve?’ Yoongi asked.

Jin looked at Taehyung and the boy held up the vial containing his mother’s memories, ‘To know the truth,’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well.....
> 
> SOOOOPPPPPPEEEE!!!!!! <333333 *Combusts into flames*
> 
> *future me*
> 
> So, about the character themes. I don't know how many of you listen to the music I link in (it's ok if you don't). I put in the music coz it really helps me visualise the scenes, feel the mood. So if you're like me, here are the themes for some of the characters. These are for the beginnings of their arcs. We'll come full circle to these themes at the very end.
> 
> [Namjoon's Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Soh4PFvnw&ab_channel=DaenerysScore)
> 
> [Taehyung's Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4_Psg5mV4c&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic)
> 
> [Jimin's Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoPnrbKOEl8&ab_channel=TheGringoMedia)
> 
> More themes next chapter


	7. A Mother's Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, a short'er' chapter... I didn't know what that was for a while.
> 
> We have entered the second arch of the story, with Tae's powers breaking and the court case being the bridge that connects the two arches. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> **Incase you are confused the the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Akira Senju - Homage to Alchemy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-9aZU0lZSk&ab_channel=wd0) _

‘To know the truth,’ Taehyung held up the vial containing his mother’s memories. The contents swirled like silver smoke, neither gas nor liquid. Taehyung opened the cork and emptied the contents into Flitwick’s pensieve and the light from the memory threads illuminated the surroundings in a white light. Jin gestured all of them to hold hands and once they were all linked, he nodded at Taehyung to dive in. The boy bent forward, head going into the basin and soon all five were sucked into the vortex.

They opened their eyes. The five were in a small, dimly lit room. It looked like an underground cabin with wooden floors and torches on the walls. A woman was seated at the table in the center of this small room, her face hidden under the hood of her grey cloak, gloved hands resting on the table. The faint din of cutlery and kettle whistles could be heard, as if this room was near a busy kitchen.

The door opened and another woman walked in, dressed in an all black cloak, hood up. She walked through Namjoon like a ghost and took a seat opposite the first woman.

‘Very unexpected,’ the new woman said and Laura instantly grabbed Yoongi’s wrist, the breath caught in her chest. The cousins glanced at each other, both of them now knew who the woman was. That voice hadn’t left their memories. Yoongi’s eyes flickered from the woman to Laura and then back.

‘Thanks for seeing me Amelia. I didn't think you’d agree,’ the first woman spoke, slowly lowering her hood. 26 year old Kim Jiyeon had shoulder length, straight brown hair and beautiful eyes that her son had inherited.

‘Mother…’ Taehyung whispered softly. It was strange to him, seeing his mother of an age he had never seen before.

The second woman started to lower her hood too, revealing raven hair and the characteristic purple eyes, all features very much like her daughter.

‘I almost thought I shouldn't come…’ Amelia Dracwyn spoke in a deep voice. ‘But you made me curious,’

The boys heard a choked sob and glanced at Laura. Yoongi was anxious about what she would be feeling, seeing her mother in a memory after over a decade. It all looked so real. Laura bit her lip hard and blinked, trying to maintain her composure. Her cousin held her hand with both of his and rubbed them. Laura wanted to cry out for her mother, but she knew that was futile. Her mother was dead no matter how alive she looked right now.

‘You sure you wanna do this?’ Yoongi asked.

‘Yes,’ Laura breathed. ‘We have to. We can't turn away from it,’

Amelia Dracwyn sat back in her chair. ‘Why don't I get us something,’ she rang the bell kept on the table and a small bald man came at the door.

‘What would you like?’ She asked Jiyeon. ‘From the Ravenclaw party rumours I suppose your favourite was Firewhiskey?’

‘I’m afraid I’ve gone sober. I’ll just have tea,’ Jiyeon said.

‘Alright then,’ she nodded at the man who bowed and left.

‘So tell me,’ Amelia said. ‘Why did you want to meet me? Auror business?’

‘No…’ Jiyeon replied. ‘Personal,’

‘Trouble in paradise?’ Amelia asked with a slight smirk. ‘But I thought I would be the last person you would come to,’

‘Trouble in paradise,’ Jiyeon nodded with a chuckled. ‘Yeah one could say that. I have… broken up with Martaeus,’

‘Okay… and?’ Amelia asked.

‘You don't seem surprised,’ Jiyeon said.

‘Why should an ex be surprised seeing the next one make the same decision she did?’

The tea arrived and Amelia poured a cup each. ‘But what can I do for you in this situation?’

Jiyeon’s eyes looked at her intensely through the steam rising from both the cups. ‘By telling me the truth,’ she watched Amelia’s face for some response but Amelia was expressionless as she nonchalantly mixed in her sugar.

‘What truth?’

‘You were betrothed to Martaeus. Why did you end it?’

Amelia chuckled. ‘That was a very long time ago Jiyeon. Both of us were too young, just out of Hogwarts,’

‘Can’t be the only reason,’

Amelia put the teaspoon aside and folded her hands over each other. ‘Martaeus was my friend throughout our school years. But I couldn't possibly marry someone like him. He's too… unstable. How is a man like that supposed to take care of a family? Moreover, the Dracwyn family,’

‘Is that it? He is unstable for a reason Amelia. You know it,’

‘I don't know what you are talking about,’

‘You both were close since first year. There is no way you don't know about it,’

Amelia bit the inside of her cheek, ‘Then why don't you say it out loud?’

‘Alright…’ Jiyeon straightened her back, exhaling. ‘Martaeus is an Elkyre. He's part of the forbidden Guild of Alchemists,’

Amelia did not look surprised. She took a deep breath and looked to the side at the plain grey wall. ‘Did he tell you or you found out?’

‘I found out,’

‘And you left him,’

‘So did you,’ Jiyeon quirked up an eyebrow.

‘And to think we let him come between us being friends,’ Amelia chuckled.

‘I was a young fool…’ Jiyeon admitted and then she looked at Amelia a moment. ‘Did you love him?’

‘The same way you did,’ Amelia replied, taking a sip of her tea.

There was silence for a few moments and then Amelia decided to discuss things of importance.

‘Jiyeon, do not get involved with the Guild. They have no moral grounds or rules. They put on a show of being philosophical and scientific but deep down, they are curious and experimentive to an inhuman level,’

‘I know… I know all of it. And that's why I need your help,’

Amelia looked at Jiyeon’s eyes showing desperation. It was like she felt unsafe, which was very unlike Jiyeon. Amelia had known Jiyeon to be extremely brave. Nothing fazed her ever. Amelia glanced at the tea and then back to Jiyeon.

‘Are you…?’ she asked.

‘I'm pregnant, Amelia,’ Jiyeon said and now the understood the need for being fearful.

‘Does he know?’ Amelia asked.

‘No. Rather it was one of the reasons I came away. He cannot know. He’ll take my child away from me,’

‘Your child may or may not inherit his Elkyric powers. But Martaeus will not let go until he finds out for sure. He cannot find out he has a child under any circumstances. The guild wants any living Elkyre to be a part of them,’

‘That is why I'm asking for your help… please! I don't know what to do, I need to keep my child safe. From him, from the guild and from the Ministry. I know the Ministry hates Alchemists. You are a mother now, you know the fear,’

Amelia looked at her knowingly. Of course she knew the dreadful feeling of not having the assurance of your child’s safety. To be surrounded with forces you can't control that threaten the happiness of your child.

‘You are keeping the baby?’ Amelia asked.

The question sent a cold pang through Taehyung’s body. Did his mother ever think that she didn’t want-

‘Don't try and convince me not to have my child. It's my blood, I cannot…’

‘I was not going too… I just wanted to know what you wanted,’

‘I want my child safe. I'm ready to do anything for it,’

And for the first time in a while, the affection Taehyung had for his mother flowed through him again. He was relieved, and even slightly proud of his mother, for being this brave. For fighting for him.

Jiyeon’s request put Amelia in thought, her expression strongly resembling her father’s.

‘First we need to get you married as soon as possible, so that Martaeus has no suspicion,’

‘A sudden marriage? To whom? You can't just conjure a man and get married,’

‘It's not going to be easy but we’ll have to try. Best to find a muggle,’

 

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)_[Ramin Djawadi - Truth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4_Psg5mV4c&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic)  
[Ramin Djawadi - Daenerys Jon Suite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78O0L3bhGV4&ab_channel=JorahtheAndal)

The surroundings dissolved into white smoke and formed again. They saw glimpses of a wedding where Jiyeon looked like she had progressed a few months into her pregnancy. Taehyung wondered if his father… his step father knew. He hoped his mother hadn’t lied to him. His stepfather was the kindest human being Taehyung had ever known.

The smoke cleared. This time they were in a small wooden house. The five looked out the window to see a blizzard. Everything was covered in deep snow with the wind howling with fury. They saw Jiyeon on the bed, she looked completely worn out, all life had gone from her. Sweat covered her entire body despite the extreme chill and the lower half of the bed was stained in blood. Amelia sat next to her, holding a bloodied hand.

‘What happened to her!?’ Namjoon asked, shocked at the sight.

‘I'm not entirely sure but,’ Jin’s eyes fell on a small Christmas decoration on the fireplace. ‘It's December,’ he said and understood the scene in front of them. ‘30th December,’

Taehyung’s blue eyes widened. Was this… was this where he was born? He looked around the room and then back at his mother. She looked tired to the bone but where was  _he?_

They heard the cries of a child coming towards them and the door opened. A middle aged woman in a bloodied apron was carrying a wrapped bundle. Amelia looked up and Jiyeon slowly opened her eyes.

‘How is he?’ Amelia ran to the midwife, peeking into the bundle. The five ran with her, Taehyung at the front.

‘I am not sure milady. He cries but his body is so cold,’ the midwife spoke.

‘Bring him… to me,’ Jiyeon’s cracked and tired voice spoke. Amelia hoisted Jiyeon up against the bedrest and the midwife carefully transferred the baby from her arm’s to the mother’s. All eyes followed the little bundle, trying to get a peek. Amelia supported the baby’s head while the two watched her move the folds of the bundle to reveal the baby’s face.

He was a beautiful child. Different, but beautiful. He had milky, plump skin, brilliant blue eyes and a few wisps of white blonde hair. The baby’s mouth moved like he wanted to cry but was soon as he saw the two women, his expression changed one to wonder, big blue eyes sparkling.

‘He’s breathing well milady and everything else seems healthy. But I don’t understand why he’s so cold and pale. Could it be the weather? Winter is so cold this time, never seen one like it,’ the midwife said, looking out the window.

The baby smiled when Jiyeon touched his face with her hand.

‘Have you thought of a name?’ Amelia asked.

‘His grandfather’s name… Taehyung,’ Jiyeon said.

The scene dissolved again. Now they were in a house- small and cozy. Jiyeon was setting some children books and toys into a box when she heard a man and a child giggle and laugh.

‘Jiyeon you have to see this!’ the man’s voice called her.

‘Coming!’ she said, making her way to the bedroom. When she entered, her feet stepped on ice and she was about to slip.

‘Honey! Careful,’ her muggle husband rushed forward to hold her. Jiyeon looked around the room. 2 year old Taehyung sat on a frozen floor. Whatever he was touching was turning to ice- the blocks he was playing with, the foot of the bed.

‘We definitely have a wizard son now!’ her husband beamed. ‘He’s taken after you!’

But Jiyeon wasn’t saying anything. She was staring at Taehyung in utter fear.

‘Jiyeon, what happened? Is there something wrong?’ he asked.

‘This magic… is… I don’t know, I need to make sure,’ she said, her fingers touching the four petalled locket hanging around her neck.

‘That’s the locket,’ Laura said as Taehyung and her hands mimicked the action of Jiyeon’s. ‘The two actually had this pair,’

The surroundings shifted and Jiyeon was hurriedly walking through a forest, the light of the setting sun streaming through the trees. Amelia was by her side, carrying a sleepy Taehyung in her arms. Both wore travelling cloaks with their hoods up, the twin lockets hanging from their necks.

‘Mulciber is one of the most skilled wizards. He will be able to lock Tae’s powers,’ Amelia said.

Taehyung was rubbing his eyes, almost asleep on Amelia’s shoulder.

‘And his memories?’ Jiyeon asked.

‘He is a baby so it should be easy,’ Amelia said. They reached a clearing with a small house which didn’t look very well looked after. The curtain of the front window was pulled open by an old man, long red beard covering half his chest and glassy white eyes looking through.

‘That's Mulciber. He’s an old friend of the Dracwyns, he’s agreed to keep this a secret,’’ Amelia said. ‘Wait here. Don't show your face to anyone,’

‘Tae Tae,’ Jiyeon said to the silver haired child on Amelia’s shoulder. ‘Aunt Amelia will take you in for a while ok? Listen to her,’ She patted his head and watched him leave, his big blue eyes watching her from Amelia’s shoulder.

The scene dissolved again and they were in another small house. Jiyeon was at the door arguing with a man.

‘Taehyung,’ Jin came to his side because he knew that what was going to follow wouldn’t be easy. ‘That’s…. that’s Martaeus, your father,’

Taehyung’s eyes stared hard at the man, with anger, hatred and resentment.

‘I know who he is,’

They heard the sound of footsteps and looked back to see the Taehyung they all recognise - brown haired with dark eyes. Mulciber had changed his appearance to something less different along with sealing his powers. He was around six years old now and looking nervously from behind the wall towards whatever was happening at the door. Martaeus pushed through Jiyeon and was walking in and Taehyung ran into the kitchen. The five followed, witnessing the whole fight and how Jiyeon tried to protect Taehyung but failed. When the wind crashed through the windows at Jiyeon, the older Taehyung gritted his teeth and the rest of the watchers had their breaths stuck in their throats. Martaeus was so powerful that he made all of his look as effortless as breathing. He didn't even need to exert one bit of strength. Little Taehyung was crying, trying with all his might that Martaeus would let go of his arm and his older self bit his lip, trying to remind himself that this was after all a memory and he couldn't do anything to change any of it. He couldn’t intervene and undo what he did.

‘How could he do that…’ Yoongi whispered to himself.  _How could he do that to his own son?_ And then it happened. The watchers froze as within a second, a spear of ice was through Martaeus’ chest, thick, red blood trickling down the icicle. They all looked in concerned towards both the Taehyungs, the younger looked wildly afraid and the older’s face contorted in guilt in the horror of seeing the life he had taken.

They saw Jiyeon rush to little Taehyung who was now back in his real, silver haired form. The boy was stunned in shock. It was like his mind had snapped and he had lost the ability to understand anything around him. Jiyeon grabbed him and ran out of the house, grabbing the locket tight in her palm.

The surroundings shifted again and Jiyeon was in their previous meeting room with Amelia.

‘Mulciber placed a stronger block this time,’ Jiyeon said. ‘Taehyung doesn’t remember anything,’

‘Jiyeon… I need your help,’ Amelia said. She looked really worried, like something was eating her up on the inside.

‘What is it?’

‘The Dark Lord…’ her voice cracked. ‘I can’t do this anymore. My father has refused to support me. I don’t know why he’s giving in. But I cannot let my daughter grow in the Dark Lord’s shadow. No one is safe, not even his followers,’

‘Do you want out?’ Jiyeon asked, holding Amelia’s hand.

‘It’s not that easy. I can’t just run away, I’m a Dracwyn. I will have the Death Eaters hunt me down. This is why my husband would rather stay than risk flight. He kills his own followers Jiyeon!’ Amelia looked at her with wide, frightened eyes. ‘He talks about honour but keeps it only when it suits him. I never wanted to do this, but who will support me and keep my family safe if I refuse? The Dark Lord specifically wants our family on his side because we are among the old Slytherin bloodlines. The Malfoys, the Lestranges, Montagues, Sayres, Carrows, all support him or are too afraid to speak what they really want to do. One of us goes astray and we will be hunted down in a worse way than they’ll hunt Dumbledore’s Army. The Dark Lord will never forgive a betrayal. And he won’t just punish me. He’ll punish my entire family. My sister ran away with her husband to another country but I warned her that putting distance between herself and the Dark Lord won’t really stop him from finding her,’

Amelia had tears in her eyes by the end of it. Jiyeon gripped her trembling hands tighter.

‘I’ll help you. I’m part of the higher investigative team of Aurors now. I will push the Ministry to give us the go for an ambushed capture. Till then you can ask the Ministry to keep you safe-’

‘Kim Hyeonsuk has half of the Ministry in his pocket and he is waiting for a chance to shame the Dracwyns. I cannot trust anyone in there. The Ministry has to kill the Dark Lord and end this war,’

‘Alright. I will need the place and time from you. Where does You-Know-Who hold his meetings?’

‘I will tell you as soon as I know… but if something goes wrong… protect my family,’ Amelia said with burning eyes, holding Jiyeon’s hand tightly.

‘I will, as you have protected mine,’ Jiyeon assured her.

They were now in a big, old mansion, standing in a corridor with grey walls and black flooring. Green curtains hung from the windows. In front of them was a big black door, slightly open with voices coming from behind it.

‘The Malfoy Manor?’ Yoongi asked, looking around, somewhat remembering this house from one of the older galas and then his eyes fell on something slightly out of form. After staring at it for a few seconds he realized Jiyeon was camouflaged in the wall.

He looked back at Laura who was peering from the door at whatever was happening in the main hall. Yoongi looked over her shoulder to see a tall figure. It looked like a man but not like something Yoongi had ever seen. The man was white as chalk, skin waxy and distorted. His eyes were bloodshot, lips thin and bloodless. His nose could almost be missed, apart from an oddly shaped piece of flesh with nostrils. He was bald and wore high, closed neck, black flowing robe.

‘It’s… it’s him,’ Yoongi stood frozen at the sight of Lord Voldemort. Jin, Namjoon and Taehyung peered from the sides to get a glimpse of the most dangerous wizard known to mankind and one glance at this man’s hard and red eyes confirmed how cruel and heartless he was told to be. 

Voldemort was pacing in front of a woman who kneeled on the wooden floor, her head down and black hair flowing on her back.

‘Don’t disappoint me Amelia,’ the pale, daunting man spoke in a cold voice. ‘Don’t disappoint your family either,’

‘My Lord, Mulciber is lying. I never brought a child to him,’ Amelia spoke from where she kneeled.

‘I need the boy, Amelia. Before the alchemists find him. So don’t delay and take me to him,’ Voldemort said, still pacing.

‘My Lord please… I don’t know-’

‘You do know!’ Voldemort halted and turned towards her, his face furious. ‘I just don’t know whether you have sided with the Ministry or with the Alchemists! Martaeus has a son and I need that child so that the Alchemists have no other choice but to obey me! I want the last piece of their puzzle!’

He walked past her towards the door in fury and even though this was only a memory, Yoongi felt like stepping back from the Dark Lord’s ghost.

‘They think they can overpower me… with that stone they are creating. No… I will have them creating it _for_ me. Once I have it, our great Headmaster and his whole army can come at me with all their might and they will shatter… into innumerable pieces,’

He turned sharply back to Amelia.

‘Tell me Amelia… is it really wise to lie to me?’ Voldemort’s bony white hand stretched out, ghosting over Amelia’s head and they could hear her wheezing, like she was being choked. ‘I didn’t know you are so stone hearted that you won’t even think about your daughter,’

‘My Lord,’ she gasped and Yoongi had to hold Laura back, provide some grounding to remind her this was a memory.

‘Mulciber is lying to you,’ she wheezed. ‘I know of no boy-’

But Voldemort put his hand up. ‘Bellatrix!’ he called and she appeared from the shadows, curly black hair a mess around her face.

‘Yes My Lord,’ she bowed in deep respect and admiration.

‘Bring her husband,’

Bellatrix looked back at two men at the inner door. They nodded and brought a nearly unconscious body of a man. He was heavily bruised, blood sticking to his brown hair. A whimper escaped Laura seeing the state of her father. The men nearly threw the body on the floor, in front of Amelia. The woman rushed towards him.

‘Dylan, please, please hang in there,’ she begged of her husband who was groaning in pain. ‘We don’t know anything! Please my lord you must believe me!’

‘Seeing your husband in his state hasn’t changed your mind either?’ Voldemort seemed amused. ‘Dear Bellatrix if I ask you to bring the Dracwyn child to us, will you?’

‘Of course my lord! I will bring that little girl, I will-‘

‘And would you make dear Amelia watch while you break each bone in that little girl’s body?’

Amelia shook her head violently, ‘No… no please you cannot-‘

‘Or… should I keep her, bring her up to be a better, more loyal servant than her foolish mother?’ Voldemort sneered and Bellatrix cackled behind him. ‘Tell, which option is more appealing to you Bellatrix?’

‘My Lord,’ Amelia begged of him again. ‘I really do not know of any child of Martaeus-‘

‘LIES!’ Voldemort yelled out, teeth sneering at Amelia and a ringing silence echoed off the walls after his words. He walked closer to her again. ‘Dear Amelia… Martaeus and you were close. And I know Mulciber did not lie to me. I don’t think I can believe this story you are spinning,’

Voldemort walked a few paces to the front. ‘Have you forgotten the news Severus brought us? There is someone… who wishes to bring my downfall and I want to procure the stone so that I remain immortal,’

‘He heard a prophecy from Sybil Trelawney,’ Amelia tried to deviate the topic. ‘I do not think she’s reliable my Lord,’

‘Regardless I want the stone. I need the Alchemists to create it for me and I need Martaeus’ son for it-‘

‘NOW!’ The five observers heard a yell and suddenly they were in the middle of a battle. Curses and hexes flew right and left, shattering ceramic, lanterns, cracking the stone walls.

Yoongi pulled Laura away, turning her towards him and burying her face into his chest. He couldn’t let her see this. He knew what this was. It was the 29th of October 1981. It was the day Amelia and her husband had died, in this very battle. The shapes around them started to drift away before they could do or look at anything more and they felt like they were being pulled back.

They were back in the clubroom. Silent sobs escaped Laura witnessing the last moments of her parents. It had been moments of pain and fear. She didn’t calm down for a long time and Yoongi sat with her on the floor, leaning against the wall while she sat with folded knees, head buried behind them.

She felt a cold hand over hers and looked up. Taehyung’s blue eyes were glistening.

‘I’m sorry you had to see that,’ he said. ‘I know it would’ve been… unbearable,’

‘They really were friends… True friends,’ Namjoon said, eyes glistening as well. ‘It’s rare to see… a friendship like this,’

‘The Dark Lord knew of Taehyung’s powers… he wanted him,’ Yoongi said. ‘And now the Death Eaters want him too maybe for the same reason… we were mostly guessing till now… but there’s no doubt after what we saw,’

‘You Know Who is gone but the Alchemists are still here,’ Jin said. ‘We have to find out what stone they are planning to create,’

‘Something that makes him immortal,’ Namjoon said.

Jin’s eyebrows were contorted in thought and they gradually arched as a realization dawned on him, ‘Yoongi, I need that book from you… the one about the Red War,’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think y'all know what I'm talking about :P
> 
> Back to the themes.
> 
> [Jin's Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k&t=21s&ab_channel=Crisyta)
> 
> [Yoongi's Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-4C_JCdyxE&ab_channel=MilanRecordsUSA)
> 
> [Laura's Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ9ftKMWTW4&ab_channel=WhatOnTV)


	8. Words, Ink and Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the angst.

‘Are you still reading that book?’ Yoongi asked his cousin who was half hidden behind a massive tome, her brows furrowed in concentration. It had come in the mail in the evening, bearing the Dracwyn sigil.

‘Better we find the truth first that Jin don’t you think?’ she said, eyes not leaving the beige pages of the book. She had another smaller blue booklet in hand from which she seemed to be checking words. ‘Our ancestors have two different versions of the Red War. So I better read up on our side of the story too,’

‘Ok then, I’ll see you later,’ Yoongi waved at her and left for the choir’s storage room. Hoseok had left him a note about meeting him there. Yoongi entered the room with a big gummy smile, his chest fluttering at the very sight of Hoseok, his  _boyfriend_ , though they still had to go on a proper date. And Yoongi couldn’t wait to suggest that they go out this weekend to Hogsmeade, maybe have dinner at the Three Broomsticks.

‘Hey Yoon,’ Hoseok greeted him, straightening up from where he was leaning against the piano. Something was off in his smile, it didn’t make his eyes crinkle.

‘Hey Hobi… is everything ok?’ Yoongi asked, moving closer. Hoseok shook his head, taking a deep breath in to gather his nerves.

‘There’s something I haven’t told you yet. Mostly because… I thought Vorhart should be the one telling this to people whenever she’s ready,’

That made Yoongi frown in confusion, ‘Ok…’ he sat on one of the wooden stools and made Hoseok sit across him, ‘What is it?’

‘The injuries that I had during the trial were not from a Devil’s Snare,’ Hoseok glanced at Yoongi once and looked away. ‘Those pills from Gwen, they turned me violent. I hallucinated seeing Jenkins in the castle and attacked, only to find out later that… I had attacked Vorhart instead,’ Hoseok chewed on his lower lip, his words trembled and now his hands were shivering. ‘I never… ever meant to do that. I can’t even imagine harming her…’ he exhaled. ‘I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me or if I even deserve it. But I have to at least once, let her know how sorry I am,’

Yoongi observed Hoseok’s trembling hands and contorted face like he was holding back his tears. Of course this news stunned him a lot. To think that their sunshine had put their friend in the infirmary with broken bones. Yoongi gulped and slowly placed his hand over Hoseok’s, trying to calm him. The younger’s hands had gone so cold in dread. ‘I’m sorry that happened… As much as it wasn’t easy for Ash, it wasn’t easy for you as well, and you need to realise that,’

‘But I hurt her-’

‘You were drugged. Our enemy wanted you to do something reckless, it’s their fault not yours. Even Ash knows you have a good heart Hobi,’

‘Will you be there with me, while I… try to talk to Vorhart?’

‘Of course,’ Yoongi nodded and smiled reassuringly. He brought Hoseok’s cold hands up to his lips and gently kissed his knuckles. Hoseok felt the warmth spread through the skin that touched Yoongi’s soft lips. ‘Of course I’ll be with you Hobi,’

Soon Yoongi called Ash to one of the inner corridors near the Slytherin dungeons. The moment her green eyes found Hoseok there, she knew what this was and involuntarily tensed up. Hoseok’s unnaturally livid, constricted eyes were still fresh in her mind. She knew he wasn't himself that night, she knew it wasn't his fault… but his mere presence would trigger her mind to bring back all the pain she felt at his hands that night.

‘Vorhart… please can we,’ she heard him fumbling with words while standing across her, voice was shaky and nervous. ‘I need to… I don't know how to say this…’

She waited for him to find the nerves to speak again, but she was getting fidgety at the same time as well.

‘What happened that night,’ he said, his breaths quickening. ‘I can never imagine… I can't hurt someone like that. You have to know… if I could take it all back. I would give myself 10 times the pain I gave you. I deserve it all. I… I really don't even know how to ask you to forgive me for that, but if you are not able to forgive me then I don't know how to live with myself,’

‘Hoseok… that incident… I would be lying to you if I said I’m over it,’ Ash said, trying to be as delicate with her words as she can be without lying to him. ‘I’m not over it yet… but I know… wasn’t your fault either. I don’t hold you responsible for it,’

Hoseok slowly looked up to her face for the first time, ‘Are you… do you mean it?’ His brown eyes were timid.

‘I know you cannot hurt anyone Hoseok,’ she said, wringing her hands together. ‘And… I forgive you for what happened. But I need you to know that I need some more time to just… for the memories to stop coming up. And I have to do that myself, I don’t mean I hold you responsible for it,’

‘Hey guys,’ they heard their friend’s voice and a chill went down Ash’s spine. Turning back, she found Jimin looking questioningly at all three of them.

‘What memories are you talking about?’ Jimin asked Ash. ‘What do you forgive Hobi for?’

Ash gulped, cursing her fate. She was going to tell Jimin everything soon and he had to find it out this way? ‘Jimin… I was just, trying to find the right to tell you,’

‘Tell me what? What’s happened?’

Ash turned to face him fully while his eyes watched the three of them in turns. ‘The… night I got admitted into the infirmary was not because of the Whomping Willow,’ she said and watched Jimin’s eyes widen, like he was slowly piecing together the puzzle. ‘Ho-Hoseok’s medication… he was drugged and it made him hallucinate and there was an accident,’

‘That’s why you were in the infirmary?’ Jimin asked, a hint of threat lacing his words. ‘You and Hoseok got into an  _accident_  that sent you both to the infirmary unconscious?’

They could feel the anger in Jimin’s words and the scary part was that Jimin never got angry.

Ash slowly nodded and Jimin’s anger shot up even further.

‘Then why didn’t you tell me that then and there!! I was with you in the infirmary all those days!’ he was yelling now, eyes going from Ash to Hoseok. ‘Hobi? You kept this from me too? Aren’t we friends from the very first day at school?’

Hoseok tried to speak, ‘I didn’t say anything because Ash should be the one to-’

‘And Yoongi knows it too?’ Jimin’s eyes found him. ‘He was not even there when this happened. You trust him but don’t trust me?’

Jimin stepped back and walked away, deaf to his three friends calling him.

‘I’ll speak to him,’ Yoongi said but Ash stopped him.

‘Let me. If he should be angry at someone, it should be me. Hoseok didn’t speak about this for my sake,’ and she was gone before either of them could stop her.

When Yoongi looked back at Hoseok, his state was worse, like he was going to have a panic attack any time soon, breaths ragged and eyes glistening.

‘This is all my fault. Jimin’s angry and he… he’s never gonna-’

‘Hey,’ Yoongi whispered to him, gently cupping Hoseok’s face in his palms. His thumbs gently rubbed over Hoseok’s cheeks. ‘Hoseok breathe, just breathe ok?’

‘How can I when-’

‘That was not your fault. We all have gone through some serious shit in the past week, people are bound to lash out… but everything will be alright,’ He pulled Hoseok into a hug, standing on his toes so that Hoseok could lean his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. He wanted to take all of Hoseok’s weight, physically or mentally.

‘Everything’s going to be alright. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll do whatever it takes, you got that?’ Yoongi said, stroking the back of Hoseok’s head while the younger let a few sobs escape him.

Jimin sat in the courtyard, eyes staring at the half moon in the sky. His anger burned hot inside him, bringing forth hurt and insecurity. Was he really not trustworthy enough or sensible enough that no one thought of confiding this with him?

‘Jimin please!,’ Ash came running to him. He cast her one glance and glared back at the moon.

‘I can explain! Just listen to me-’

This time Jimin glared back at her, harder than before.

‘THEN EXPLAIN!’

His words rung hard and loud in the silence of the night.

Words were running through Ash’s mind in a jumble as she tried to grasp at the best approach.

‘I’m sorry Jimin-’

‘Why did you not trust me?’ he asked back. ‘Have I ever given you or the others any reason to trust me less?’

‘It’s not that Jimin!’ Ash took a few steps closer. ‘Hoseok is your friend and I didn’t want any further problems when we all were already surrounded by enemies and traps,’

‘And you did not think I would’ve acted rationally? So I have no credibility in your eyes?’ Jimin’s insecurities were rising and that had never been a pretty sight.

‘Jimin, I’m just… It’s not easy for me to confront someone or share difficult things-’

‘Am I just  _someone?_ ’ The hurt was apparent in his eyes. ‘I’ve shared my deepest secrets with you, you know that. Even when I don’t want to trouble you with whatever’s been happening with me, you urge me to depend on you, but you can’t do the same to me. Why? Am I weak in your eyes?’

‘Jimin you’re taking this further than what it is,’

Jimin stared back at her with the same pained expression, ‘I knew we were different. From the very beginning I knew that. That’s why it took me so long and so much courage to even start talking to you. Pathetic isn’t it,’

‘Stop it Jimin!’

But he couldn’t stop. His tongue moved with poisonous words on their own. Poisonous to himself, ‘In these past difficult weeks, I literally gave all of myself to you, because I trusted you with the good and bad of me. Maybe you don’t feel the same way about me. Is that it? We moved too fast too soon isn’t it,’

Ash took a deep breathe in. She was so frustrated that she wanted to shake Jimin right now to make him stop this senseless talk. His words pierced both of them equally.

‘We are different,’ Ash exhaled. ‘You’re right about that. But only that,’ she slowly moved closer. ‘I knew that from the start as well. You are friendly, giving, warm. I’m not. I don’t trust people easily and I have trouble opening up even if others lean on me. I like to help but feel weak taking help,’ she halted in front of him. They were at an arm’s distance.

‘And being with you… with my new friends, I realised it’s not the best quality. I wanted to change Jimin. I was trying to change. And for the record, I didn’t tell the truth of this situation to  _anyone,_ not a single soul. I wanted to tell you first, but… you found out,’

Jimin looked away from her green eyes, ‘You don’t have to change because I’m different from you. That’s not how I wanted us to work,’

‘I want to change for the better,’ Ash caught his wrist. His skin burned like he had a fever, ‘We all find things we need to change within us sometimes… to be a better friend, a better person to yourself. And I meant it when I said you’re special Jimin,’ she clasped his hand in his. ‘I told you, I knew we were different. And the situation around us somehow made us move faster into trusting and depending on each other. But despite all that, I do not wish to… be without you. If that makes any sense,’

Jimin looked at her, not glaring anymore. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I was sure from the beginning. I made a mistake, I just need you to give me time as I learn,’

Jimin slowly nodded and Ash felt a little better.

‘Are you angry with Hoseok?’ she asked him, ‘Because it really wasn’t his fault,’

‘I’m not angry at him,’ Jimin let his hands be in hers. ‘I just want everything to go back to normal. I should head to bed now, I don’t want to think about this anymore,’

‘Can I come with you to the common room?’ Ash asked cautiously and breathed in relief when Jimin nodded.

*

Letters first arrived at Namjoon’s muggle home when he was ten. They were inked in green, scarily accurate in description of the address but with no discernable stamps to find a return address, only a coat of arms twisting with animals around a large ‘H’ in the middle. The ten-year old Namjoon had examined every inch of the strange letter and returned it to the mantle, perhaps this was some kind of prank by the immature children in school who resented his quick advancement to the seventh grade. So far they had only made fun of his gangly state and called him a ‘beanpole,’ but perhaps they had now extended so far as to send him funny green ink letters just to see him flail in nervousness. He shook his head, heading back to the living room where his parents had left him a large yellow post-it on the fridge that read, “Happy Tenth Birthday, Joonie!” and below it in the same cheerful dark red crayon his mother’s scrawl stared back at him, “There’s seaweed soup in the flask! Be sure to drink it all up!”

Namjoon smiled to himself, looking at the flask squarely sitting on the dining table. He opened the cap it to have a sneaky smell and taste session, before waking his younger sister up to get ready to go to school on time. But that day he was to be met with someone who would change his perception of the world forever. An old man in a long indigo robe stood in the middle of the living room, examining a paperback novel that his mother had been trying to get Namjoon to read all summer.

To his immense relief Namjoon didn’t scream immediately when he saw the apparition in the middle of his house, he did the most sensible thing at the time, he promptly reached for the phone dialing the emergency number. His parents had warned him repeatedly of such things and Namjoon had watched many movies thank you very much. He knew what could potentially happen in such situations and none of them had prepared him for what came next.

The man opened his palm and a small crab was scuttling across the white bony expanse of the withering hand. Surprised and intrigued Namjoon kept an eye on the small tiny crab as he clutched the phone to his ear. Too focused on watching the small crab grow big in size and small again as it crossed the pale palm, Namjoon didn’t notice the dial tone beeping incessantly at his ear.

The ten year old was far too composed as he solemnly replaced the receiver and held out a hand for the miniscule crab. He looked carefully at the strangely dressed man and then at the crab again. Then he took a deep breath and repeated exactly what he had just seen moments ago- shrinking the fist sized crab now as it snapped its pincers.

‘Mother said it was an illusion,’ He said, lips pursed but eyes bright and fixed on the other, he returned the crab now small as a little toe nail. He recounted the number of times he had done such things out of sheer will, things that shouldn’t be explainable from the forces of science that Namjoon had learned so far.

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. ‘No. It’s magic,’

Namjoon didn’t suppress the loud hoot, screams and shouts that burst through his lungs. He was  _magic_.

Over the course of the year, Namjoon and his parents learned a lot about the Wizarding world hidden just beneath the surface of daily life and Hogwarts, the school that their first-born had been recruited into. Namjoon’s mother had clearly told the old Gandalf-like man (he learned way later that Dumbledore was his Headmaster and professor, for the whole year he thought of him as Gandalf) that she would only send her son to the school after a thorough checking and the impact it might have on Namjoon’s future. She was scared but also immensely concerned about blindly sending her son away to some hocus-pocus school with a strange old man. It had taken a whole year. Well, almost a whole year to convince his parents that he wanted this, that he would be safe, that if trained right Namjoon might as well be a wizard wielding great power. His mother had liked that, that her son would become someone important in a world she had little knowledge of troubled her but not as much as leaving such a promising smart child in a world where he might just disappear into a statistic.

Of course Namjoon hadn’t understood any of that at the time, he was just excited. The idea that he was a wizard, that he could do  _magic_ was keeping him from his regular classes, but he was still acing everything despite having to secretly trying to make  _magic_  happen every single chance he had (the fourth time he had tried to  _telekinesis_ his way through the backyard, he got a letter from someone from the Ministry of Magic. His parents hadn’t been happy.)

Almost a year later, an apprehensive Namjoon climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express intrigued, but mostly bewildered by the sheer scale of  _magicness_  around him. He was panicking that he would be completely out of place again, and have no friends again, and would probably be teased again, and . . . and. . . and.. . The thoughts never ceased and snowballed inside his head, crowding and jostling and his body had stopped functioning as he stood in the lonely corridor of the train.

A small hand on his back startled him out of his stupor, ‘Hey, are you a first-year too?’

Namjoon turned, panicked and then immediately calmed when he saw the serene, calm, beautiful face staring at him. The boy was his height, and clutching a bag of sweets to his chest as if they were his lifeline. He looked a little nervous, like he was waiting for Namjoon to shoo him away or something. Namjoon’s mouth was dry, his hands were sweating, he was never good at making friends but he wanted to make a proper friend so bad, so he did the one thing he had seen his dad always do and stuck his hand out straight in front of him, ‘Hi! My name is Namjoon,’ He must have misjudged something in his head, because when he spoke (more like shouted) the other boy startled so bad that his eyes became bigger and clutched the sweets closer to him.

A moment passed between them, Namjoon with his hand outstretched and slowly the other boy shook his hand. “Hi. I am Seokjin.” His voice was soft around the edges, and quiet. Namjoon didn’t know what to do next so he just stood there trying to remember what he was supposed to do when Seokjin tilts his head a little to the side and said, “This is my first time on the Hogwarts Express.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened and his hands were beginning to sweat again as the nerves crept in, he was going to go to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was going away from home, he wouldn’t see his mom or dad or his sister or even his dopey puppy ‘rapmon’, and suddenly Namjoon wanted nothing more than to get off the moving train and back to his room filled with pokemon stuffies and reading through his favourite astronomy book.

‘Hey,’ Seokjin interrupted Namjoon’s thoughts and gestured with his free hand. ‘Do you want to find a seat together?’ He asked. Jin was looking at him and smiling now. And for just a moment Namjoon’s worries took a backseat as he smiled back and followed the other to find seats. Namjoon figured if he could make at least one friend he would be okay and Jin had the kindest smile he had ever seen.

A week later, the gangly preteen found himself suddenly in the midst of running away from Filch the caretaker as they were found out of bed after curfew on the way to the kitchen. Seokjin, his new buddy hauled him off with a firm grip on his arm, but alas Namjoon’s legs refused to cooperate and tripped over themselves just as Mrs. Norris closed in on them with Filch fast on her heels. But Namjoon wasn’t scared or nervous, he was smiling toothily at Seokjin who was doing the same.

Another week later, both the twelve year olds (they had discovered this when Namjoon’s birthday cake arrived in the mail all squashed and half eaten by the brown Ministry Owl, stamped ‘PASS’ in large red letters stamped below the Ministry of Muggle Affairs and post’s symbol) discovered their mutual joy in riding their first official broomstick. They were both awful in the first class but so immensely enthusiastic that Madam Hooch had to blow her whistle shrilly thrice before they would focus on the class again.

Jin’s ears were flushed red, the broom he was trying to command since last week was hovering about three inches off the ground. He was still having a hard time with making the broom fly up into his hand as most students had already done. But he was still not completely embarrassed because right in front of his eyes he saw Namjoon’s broom fly up and smack him right between the eyebrows with its handle. Namjoon groaned clutching his forehead and Jin was a little worried now after having laughed.

‘Joon, are you ok?’ he asked, while Madam Hooch stood three feet away helping another student. Namjoon held up three fingers. Jin thought it was an odd muggle gesture to say they were alright but he didn’t argue muggle things a lot with Namjoon as he was still very wary about that world. Jin’s father had warned him several times of the strange muggles who made invisible waves in the air speak through wooden boxes and create humans out of metal and wires. Jin only remembered thinking muggles were weird but Namjoon was alright. He had his weird times, but he also had interesting things to share. Also Jin absolutely loved showing off to Namjoon the extended knowledge of magic he had been subjected to since he was born and didn’t find exciting at all. But with Namjoon’s new eyes he saw everything a little differently, a little more  _magical_ , in Namjoon’s awed tone.

Another cheer interrupted the frenzied cries of, ‘Up!’ as another of the last four students unable to raise their broom succeeds. And Jin, flustered screams, at the broom, ‘UPPP!’ and the broom defies gravity another inch. Jin doesn’t give up yet, maybe the louder he said it, the higher the broom rose, this thought is followed by Jin attempting to scream at the top of his voice at the broom. Namjoon watches, grasps the idea and follows it to a tee, which is why Madam Hooch has to intervene before both of them lose their voice box.

It has been a month since they met, they had explored almost all of the castle by then (that’s what they thought) and discovered at least one tunnel that they think is secret. One evening, before their curfew hit, and they had to return to their common room, Jin tells Namjoon one of his deepest secrets. He tells him he can See and Namjoon is incredibly confused but he knows this is something major and nods to Jin in all graveness. Namjoon knows that Jin will explain it more to him, that even though neither of them were well aware of the other’s worlds, they wouldn’t be left hanging.

They don’t write to each other during Christmas when they go home because Namjoon’s parents hadn’t let him get an owl as his younger sister was a little scared of them. Jin scowled a little but promised to use the telephone so they could exchange stories. That Christmas Namjoon does all his sister’s chores and holiday homework so that she would let him get an owl.

Letters after that were a thing of frequency that arrived at Namjoon’s large open window, almost every week. He got letters from Jin mostly and few from others, But it was only Jin who wrote him letters every holiday. They were always interesting. Stories of Jin climbing up his favourite tree and falling, Jin getting caught for stealing desserts, Jin getting chased by doxies while on an exotic vacation. As they grew up the letters became less hilarious and more serious. Jin getting frustrated with his father’s demands and his inability to voice his thoughts, Jin almost getting killed trying to run away from home on his broomstick, Jin writing to him about how had he wished he had never been born with the power to See. Some letters had tear stains on them, others aggressive crossed-out words and ink stains that fell when his hand must have shook with whatever he was feeling as he wrote. Namjoon had known of Jin through words, ink and tears, namely letters.

It wasn’t that they never spoke to each other in school, it was just that they were bonded closer in thick parchment and dark scribbles conveying their deepest fears and most secret dreams. Namjoon loved letters, they were his strongest link to Jin.

Now that he looked at 17 year old Jin, with his head buried in a book written by his ancestors, it reminded him of the contents of a letter which had gotten mixed with Namjoon’s assignment parchments during the days of the Min-Dracwyn trial. The letter was from Jin’s father. When Namjoon realized it was a letter for Jin, he tried to put it down, but couldn’t. Curiosity got the better of him when he saw his own name mentioned in the contents and ended up reading the whole thing.

Namjoon had a feeling since a while that Kim Hyunseok didn’t like him much. He met Jin’s father for the first time when he was 11 years old at Platform 9 3/4 when they were all returning to Hogwarts after their Christmas holidays. Jin’s parents had been all smiles and seemed welcoming to him and his muggle parents. Jin’s mother said she was glad that Jin has such a responsible and smart boy for a best friend and Jin’s father would tell Jin to take him as an example and help each other excel at everything. He was a Kim, he had to excel at everything but Jin never wanted to be surrounded by that pressure.

 _Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Alexandre Desplat - I Need You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVUMGkCiHVI&t=8s&ab_channel=wingtrix) _

But since the past year, Namjoon felt Jin’s father had turned averse to the close friendship NamJin shared. The thought made him uncomfortable. Was it because his father could sense that Jin was beyond just a good friend for Namjoon? Whenever he thought about Jin and his future, the fear would make him choke. The heir of an important pureblood family cannot be with a muggle born… a muggle born he couldn’t marry and bring forth true born children with. He had to be with another pureblood, someone who could enable the progression of their lineage. What he felt for Jin was taboo in so many ways. He tried to remove the memories of the letter from his mind for now. It had said a lot more which Jin hadn’t told him yet.

Jin’s father had never outright shown hatred, but Namjoon had never known the depth of the displeasure towards him. He recounted all the conversations and letters he had sent Jin all the time, telling him of his world, his life and his dreams. Maybe Jin had been inspired by it or he had finally snapped but Jin was stronger when he faced his father now. And his parents thought it was all because of Namjoon’s illicit and rebellious company, but that was alright, Namjoon hardly thought Jin’s parents were being fair to him. But the fact that they actively wrote letters talking of unfavourable ‘present company’ hurt Namjoon deeply, that Jin would have to choose between his family and friend and that such a choice had to be made in the first place because of how fucked-up the world was, made Namjoon’s feet heavier. He could not live with that guilt, could not force such a hardship on anyone.

Now he knew Jin had gone through a lot of hurt because he had stayed Namjoon’s friend. He had single handedly ruined Jin’s relationship with his parents, his legacy and his dreams by coming in the midst of his life. The world always took far too much away to get even something as simple as a friend. It was too much to give up on, and neither of them would survive the resultant guilt. He let his unhappiness make promises of him without consent, he promised he would make things right for Jin again, that he would make himself scarce, a mere specter in the distance and Jin would be alright then. Not so distressed at having to choose, Jin would not need to choose now if he took away one of his options to choose from. He would not let Jin suffer anymore.

‘You look tired,’ Jin’s voice stirred him from his thoughts.

‘Huh… yeah I… hardly slept last night. Was at the library,’

‘I could let Flitwick know. He won’t mind you skipping on class,’

Jin knew Namjoon would refuse no matter how strongly the other thought that Namjoon needed to take it easy and rest. And to his surprise, Namjoon nodded.

‘Thanks… I think I should just stay in,’

And Jin watched Namjoon face away and curl under the blanket with a stunned face.

Throughout the day, Jin’s thoughts hadn’t left Namjoon’s silent, strained behaviour from the afternoon. Namjoon had been growing steadily distant from the time Jin returned from the trial. He knew the past week would've taken a toll on Namjoon. He was always the one to neglect himself completely and take care of others, take the whole burden just to see his loved ones at ease. And they had gone through the most stressful time in the past few days. As soon as the final bell rang, Jin ran to his dorm to check on how Namjoon was doing. He looked over at Namjoon sprawled on his bed, jaw sticking out like when he was usually angry. Jin scooted over, looming over the prone form of Namjoon breathing deeply through his nose, his eyes slanted close. Jin’s fingers reach out on their own lightly touching the rounded jaw tracing slowly with the pads of his fingers. Namjoon hummed in his throat, eyebrows furrowing and eyes open in a slit.

Jin looked down at him waiting, trying to still the fluttering in his stomach. Jin always had the butterflies when he looked at Namjoon in an unguarded moment. But he was an expert liar, so he remained steady even when Namjoon’s hands came up to his own and threaded them together. It was intimate, too personal to spend such a time in such a closed space with their faces so close together just breathing and holding hands. Jin wanted to say it but he didn’t want to lose the moment. Namjoon was looking at him so strangely it was like he was trying to find something there and Jin keeps his face carefully blank, not willing to nudge his intentions into actions accidentally.

‘I have to go to the library,’ Namjoon whispers voice deeper in sleep as he drops Jin’s hand and sits up, missing the spasm of hurt that passes through Jin’s face. Namjoon’s intention presses like a brick against him, willing Jin to not follow him. Namjoon clears his throat picking up his books and goes out without another word or a glance, leaving Jin confused.

_A day later_

Jin could feel the irritation creeping up his spine no matter how much he tamped it down. Namjoon was sitting with Anne and Jessica, leaving him no space at breakfast and Jin had been forced to sit between Charlie and Abott who was constantly trying to ask Jin what happened to him in the last week. Jin spared one loose glance at Namjoon and his anger spiked, why were these people so clueless and judgemental all the time? Why wasn’t Namjoon helping him out? Why was Namjoon distancing himself?

 _Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Rupert Gregson William - Critical Article](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrrimfOYif4&ab_channel=Cinephile) _

And he heard his name being called out loudly by someone running towards their table from the main doors, clutching some papers in hand.

‘JIN! YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE-’

‘What are you screaming so loud for? He is sitting right here,’

‘You would scream too if you knew-’

‘Show me dumbass-’

‘Whats all the fuss?’

‘Jin! Jin, you have got to see this!’ And the Daily Prophet was shoved into his face, front page open.

**YOUNG LOVE WILL ERASE LONG RIVALRY?**

**_Exclusive Insider Information Collected By Our Rising Star Reporter Rita Skeeter_ **

There it was on the Daily Prophet in the middle of the opened page, a picture of Jin and Laura standing close to each other just at the doors of the courtroom. It was clicked at the most opportune angle for the reporter. It almost looked like Laura was leaning in to kiss Jin’s cheek when in reality she had leaned in to ask Jin about how Taehyung was doing. But that was something only a handful of people knew. And below it was the exclusive reporter’s face, tight curls and jeweled cat’s eye glasses twinkling and bouncing as she smiled conspiratorially with devil red lips for the picture.

Amanda, the Gryffindor prefect pried the paper away from Parson and read the awful article out loud as Namjoon’s spoon remained suspended between his plate and mouth.

‘Listen to this,  _After last week’s whirlwind trial revolving the Min-Dracwyns and the Osburnes, more exciting news from the Houses has been making the rounds on the rumour mills. And the latest almost confirmed news is that there is a pending agreement within both the Great Houses to join hands after nearly a hundred years of cold war…_

The article was written almost as if they were writing of actual news and not some baseless rumour, quoting close sources and acquaintances, interactions and supposed close friendship in school and the recent victory in trial. (Jin did not even recognise the sources cited. They were mostly figments of this Skeeter’s imagination) Most of it was pure speculation strung together with fanciful prose and fancier stories. They were all lies except the part that discussed the hostility between the two families that had become the cold war that it had emerged as today. Jin was sitting too far to stop the reading and besides he knew that if he stopped them, it would mean involvement and investment in an article that Jin wanted disregarded. He dismissed it, face a mask of boredom as the reading continued. But he could see Namjoon right across him.

_Kim Seokjin and Laura Dracwyn, the heirs of the Kim and Dracwyn families were seen sharing numerous close moments after the trial of Osburne vs Min-Dracwyn where the defendants won the case because of Kim Seokjin’s testimony. This is the first time ever that members of these two rival families have helped each other. Could it be that the hard hearts of the heads of these families have finally been softened by the relationship blooming between the two heirs? What will this speak about the future of these two houses?_

_‘Their interactions never seemed just friendly. They always had an air of intensity about them,’ says Ellie Jones, Laura’s classmate from Slytherin. ‘I had overheard Laura talking about Soekjin many times in the common room. We were just waiting for them to go public but I guess the case pushed for it and now our doubts have been confirmed,’_

_Kim Seokjin, nicknamed the ‘Prince’ of Hogwarts would have surely left a trail of broken hearts._

_‘He is the noblest,’ says Maggie Parker, a classmate of the Prince. ‘When we saw them having private conversations in various corners of the school, we knew something was brewing. But we never could’ve imagined he would fall for someone like Dracwyn,’_

_Her sniffling friend Sophie Smith added to the comments - ‘Kim Seokjin is such a kind soul. Dracwyn is the opposite of it,’_

_Despite being cleared of all charges, many of the students still don’t seem to favour the Min-Dracwyns. With Laura Dracwyn having triggered the jealousy of many girls, we wonder how many forces their young love would have to fight through to last._

Words destroy. Namjoon had looked at Jin across the table like he had been punched in the gut, like he hadn’t known (which he hadn’t) and Jin was left feeling helpless to stop the changing thoughts and expressions on Namjoon’s face. Jin wanted to reach across the table, and shake Namjoon by the shirt make him understand. They both knew this news wasn't true. But the real question was how did Jin’s father allow this article to be printed? Someone in the Daily Prophet would have definitely informed Hyunseok when this article was drafted. Did his father choose to let the events unfold? Was this done to gauge what kind of reaction would he see from the Charles Dracwyn’s side? It was a big gamble that his father was doing, trying to somehow subdue the rumours of why Jin had never been seen with a date to the numerous functions. For his father, maybe it was more to console himself than the few talking tongues. Hyunseok was under a weird belief that Jin and Laura were close and nothing Jin said made him believe otherwise… it was almost as if his father didn’t want to believe the apparent truth. He’d rather have his son create a scandal with a Dracwyn than be with a man.

But this piece of made up news had shaken Namjoon more than Jin had expected. It was like Namjoon feared all of it coming true. This article again reminded Namjoon of how wrong he was for Jin, the pure blood prince. But with so many people around him erupting in surprise and questions of outrage overlapping, Jin never had a chance to speak to Namjoon, he could only watch his face fall and he felt himself crumble a little more inside.

Jin got up from his table and grabbed his bag. ‘Guys, guys can you relaxl?’ He tried to look least bothered, hoping his disinterest will convince them of the lie which that article was. Jin met Namjoon’s eyes over the pitcher of cold juice and looked away. ‘Seriously, there’s not one shred of truth in that. Do you guys  _really_  think I’m secretly dating Laura Dracwyn out of ALL the people in this school?’ he shook his head at them. ‘Anyways, I have some assignments left to do. I’ll see y’all in class ok?’ he said nonchalantly and left, maintaining a masked face. He was not going to show that this article affected him in the least.

The table burst into whispers again as soon as he left and Namjoon had his rare bursts of anger as he slammed the spoon with his fist onto the table. All eyes turned to him in sudden silence. ‘I think all of you should be more concerned about the mid-terms more than all this,’ He said, ‘Besides, I can see that all of you read the Daily Prophet a little too intently, you can’t believe half the things that they say. Just the other day, I saw a Skeeter article claiming that Dumbledore was influencing students and creating a student army to invade the Ministry,’ The tension dissipated a little at that and there were some sheepish looks on their faces.

*

Classes were over for the day for the fourth year Hufflepuffs. The whole class had noticed Taehyung’s change in behaviour since he had returned from his ‘emergency home visit’. The only conversations he made was if he was replying to someone’s questions. The only time he smiled was when you smiled at him. And this wasn't the Taehyung they were used to. Where was the loud, hyper Tae Tae who would randomly start dancing in the middle of a class or run behind his classmates, wanting a piggyback ride. Bogum had exhausted himself asking if Taehyung was facing any trouble. He would always get the same reply- that Taehyung was alright, he was worried about his sick  _aunt_  who Bogum had never heard of before. But Bogum couldn't see his roommate brooding and sulking anymore and decided to tell the whole situation to Hoseok. Bogum noticed Taehyung was avoiding Hoseok. Whenever they would spot him between classes, Hoseok would come over to talk but Taehyung barely held the conversation and would find reasons to get out of it. And after classes, Taehyung disappeared somewhere, only to be seen back in his dorm before curfew time. Bogum would ask if he ate any dinner and Taehyung would just nod, giving a weak smile before he climbed on to the bed and pulled the covers over himself.

Finally, with Bogum’s help, Hoseok had cornered Taehyung in his dorm and Taehyung had cast Bogum an accusing look but the boy held his ground. He knew this was important. He nodded at Hoseok and left them to talk.

‘Taehyung please tell me you are at least eating your meals regularly!’ Hoseok asked him. Taehyung felt crowded by his presence, like he was being backed into the wall and a hundred questions were being shot at him again.

‘You don't have to worry about me,’ was his only reply.

‘Don't have to worry about you!? Are you insane? How can we not worry about you!’

‘Because I can take care of myself,’

‘Oh is this what you told Jin as well? Yeah, he told me how you showed him the cold shoulder,’

‘Leave me alone Hoseok!’ Taehyung said a bit too loudly, brushing Hoseok’s hand off his shoulder.

Hoseok just stared at him for a moment. He was completely taken aback by his words. Taehyung walked away, his arm brushing against Hoseok, sending a chill through his body. Nobody had ever seen Taehyung lose his cool like that. His eyes were scary, body shivering slightly as if he was holding in his urge to bang his fists somewhere. Hoseok was now more worried about him that before.

Taehyung briskly walked towards his spot near the Great Lake. It was a nicely hidden spot with a curtain of fir trees separating this area from the rest of the castle grounds. This is where he had been spending most of his time. Once he reached the shore, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes, roughly pulling out some rolled parchments which crumpled in his tight grasp and threw them on the ground. The lightly lapping waves of water did not help soothe the anger brimming within him. He took his wand out, pointing at the parchment on his feet.

‘Incendio,’ he said and flames shot from his wand, igniting the paper. He sat down beside it as he watched the writings of his mother’s hand catch the fire and disappear to ash.

He had refused to talk to his mother even when Dumbledore incessantly tried to make him. His mother had written him many letters after that but none of them helped him feel better. Dumbledore had asked him to come see him several times. He only went once when Dumbledore himself appeared out of nowhere to invite him personally. But the meeting was not that helpful. Like before, Taehyung just wanted it to be over so that he could be alone again.

‘Your bonfire’s burned out,’ Tae heard a voice behind him. He turned to find his best friend standing there with arms crossed.

‘It wasn’t a bonfire,’ Taehyung said emotionlessly.

Jungkook sat beside him and Taehyung suddenly realized that he had been physically so far away from a human being for so many days that he could actually feel the warmth from Jungkook’s body.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[BTS - Spring Day (Orchestra Version by Doopiano)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqmAe0QfkjU&ab_channel=DooPiano) _

‘Why are you avoiding me?’ Jungkook asked him.

‘I’m not avoiding you,’

‘Oh really? I tried so many times to find you. I left messages with Hobi and Bogum for you to meet me. The one time I crashed your path, you said you were late for class and left without talking to me. If that’s not avoiding I don't know what is,’

‘I just… wanted some time alone,’

‘What about what I want? Do you not care about me? I thought we were best friends,’

‘We are…’

‘Are we? This is how you treat your best friend?’

‘If you still want me as a best friend, then you probably don’t know the whole truth of what’s happened,’ Taehyung said, picking at the grass beneath him.

‘I know the truth Tae… the whole truth. About your powers… about… about what happened with your father...,’

‘And?’ Taehyung’s voice was shaky.

‘And that doesn’t change anything. You are my best friend,’ Jungkook stretched out his hand and took Taehyung’s. ‘Look at me Tae,’

Taehyung didn’t listen to him and instead tried to pull his hands away.

‘Yah!’ Jungkook tightened his grip. ‘Are you really going to do this to me? You think I’m not hurting when you do this?’

‘I don’t want to hurt you,’

‘Then look at me,’

Taehyung slowly turned his dark eyes to Jungkook’s. His friend was smiling at him, his eyes radiating warmth and that smile showing his love and nothing else. There was no judgement in his gaze, no worry, just contentment that his friend was next to him. And for the first time in days, Taehyung felt like he could breathe.

‘Do you think my friendship is that weak?’ Jungkook asked him. ‘That I will turn the other way after whatever has happened? I don’t care about any of that. You are still my Tae,’

‘You can’t turn a blind eye to the truth Jungkook,’

‘And I’m not. I know what you are, what happened in the past. But I am also saying that that doesn’t undo what your present is and who you are to me. Your place in my life will never change Tae,’

‘People close to me… are not safe,’

‘And your solution is to live alone? That’s not a solution because I need your company everyday. I miss you way too much and don’t make me repeat these corny things, you know how embarrassed I get,’

Taehyung chewed his lips guiltily.

‘Can you trust me this one time? Tae, I know with utmost surety that you going away is not going to solve anyone’s problems. I know, in my heart that we all need to stick together. If you have ever thought of me as a dependable friend who cares for you, then please listen to me,’

Taehyung looked at Jungkook. His gaze held so many questions.

‘Do the others… I don’t know what is going on in their minds about me,’

‘All of them miss you. They are waiting for you. Because their feelings for you haven’t changed Tae. You are still the same friend that you were,’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘When you go back to the castle, just look them in the eye. Namjoon, Jimin, Hobi, Jin… you will know I'm speaking the truth,’

Taehyung breathed out. He wanted to believe Jungkook, he really did… but there was something still pricking him inside… when he wasn't able to accept himself completely, how could others do so?

‘So will you come back?’ Jungkook was looking at him, eyes full of hope and expectation. ‘It's really gloomy without you,’

‘It's… it's not easy for me to be around people,’ Taehyung said to him, feeling guilty about letting him down.

‘Tae… we don't want to crowd you… but you can't isolate yourself from the people who love you. We will give you your time and space, as much as you need… but we want you with us. We miss you,’

Taehyung nodded, finally squeezing Jungkook’s hand in return and there was no stopping Jungkook’s big bunny smile.

He lunged at Taehyung, putting his arm around the younger’s neck and hugged him, tickling his stomach. Taehyung laughed, after an eternity. He was surprised that Jungkook didn't hesitate even one bit in showing the kind of affection he always showed. He wasn't scared of triggering Taehyung’s powers, or treated him differently in the whole expanse of their conversation. Taehyung couldn't help but believe his words when he said that everyone else was waiting for him the same way. He hugged Jungkook and stayed that way for a few moments, realising just how much he had missed his friends. 


	9. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is short chapter? Idk... nan molla.

Taehyung walked to the Gargoyle statue on the 5th floor. The small note in his hand said ‘gumdrops’ in beautiful thing writing, so that's what he spoke at the Gargoyle. The stone figure slid to the side and Taehyung stepped into the spiralling Phoenix staircase taking him up to the great oak doors he was so frequently visiting nowadays.

When he knocked the doors opened on their own and he let himself in. Dumbledore was not at his desk so Taehyung looked around his office. All his tinkling instruments always made him curious to observe them, understand the workings of the cogs and gears inside those glass structures.

Dumbledore’s pet phoenix woke up on Taehyung’s arrival. Fawkes lifted it’s scarlet head and looked at the boy with black eyes. Taehyung really wanted to pet the great bird so he walked towards him, stretching out a hand. Fawkes bent forward, touching his beak to Taehyung’s index finger.

‘You feel warm,’ Taehyung smiled, proceeding to stroke its head. Fawkes crooned, blinking its eyes.

‘It is a beast of fire,’ he heard Dumbledore behind him and turned. The headmaster was walking out of his inner chambers and taking a seat behind his desk. His long silvery blue robes almost matched his long beard.

‘How are you today Taehyung?’

Taehyung’s mood changed at the presence of another human. His smile faltered a little and a mask came on.

‘Like I've been all these days. Fine,’ he replied.

‘You seem to like Fawkes. You like creatures don't you?’

‘Yes,’

‘Why so?’

‘Their instincts are always right. They don't judge ignorantly like humans do. Seems to me they are much wiser than we’ll ever manage to be,’

‘You are right in that aspect Taehyung,’

‘So why did you ask to see me? Is my mother is worried?’ Taehyung sat on the chair opposite the Headmaster.

‘Do you remember what I said when I sealed you powers?’ Dumbledore asked, looking at him more intensely now.

‘You said it's not safe to seal my powers forever,’

‘Yes. Because you can have an outburst again. Your powers shouldn't have been sealed in the first place… it's not something natural,’

There was a pause before Dumbledore spoke again.

‘How do you feel about your Elkyric powers?’

Taehyung was silent for a while as he contemplated in his head and Dumbledore didn't rush him. The man folded his hands on the table and waited for Taehyung to reply.

‘It feels… I feel like I will cause harm to the people close to me…’

‘But?’ The elder asked him in a knowing way.

‘But… but I feel like I want to use my powers… it makes me feel like that is my true self… someone who can protect himself from danger without the help of others. Someone who people will associate with greatness…’

‘You feel a need to prove yourself as better than what you are right now?’

‘You were in the courtroom too professor. You heard what people think of me… of the great Auror’s son. They can't believe I'm the son of such a skilled witch. You wouldn't know what that feels… to be looked down upon by everyone. Even my friends think I'm not that smart and that my magic is just average,’

‘Madam Sprout has always spoken of you as an intelligent student Taehyung. Right from the day you first sat in her class. So have the other professors. You are not smart from the books but they have all seen you come up with unique solutions. If Professor Snape can nod in agreement at your potions skills, I'm sure that's proof enough,’

Taehyung looked away like he wasn't really believing his words. Maybe Dumbledore was speaking white lies to make him feel better.

‘If it's power you seek from your Elkyric blood, you must be able to bear the responsibility that comes with it… it won't be the solution to your problems, it will be the beginning of it,’

‘I only want to be taken seriously by people. I want my words and opinions to carry weight. And I've seen enough to know that only fear or power garner respect and attention,’

‘Telling the whole school about being an elkyre is not the best decision Taehyung,’

‘If you don't want my powers kept sealed, what else do you want me to do?’

Dumbledore got up from his seat and started to walk towards Taehyung. ‘When your mother told me about the day you saw your father… your biological father, it got me thinking why was he is such a rush to take you with him,’

‘And?’

‘And she also told me that your father was a part of the Alchemical Guild. Which made my suspicions stronger,’ Dumbledore leaned his back against the table as he stood beside Taehyung.

‘The Alchemist’s Guild is a highly classified group of alchemists and Elkyres. Only the most powerful are invited to be a part of it. Your father was indeed a very gifted student… much like you as a matter of fact,’

‘Like me?’ Taehyung’s brown eyes widens as he looked at Dumbledore.

‘Yes… he suffered some of the same problems you are going through right now. He felt the students didn't respect him. But unlike you, he decided to alienate himself from everyone, apart from a few of his Slytherin housemates with whom he would be occasionally seen. He was the opposite of social, but he wasn't mean to anyone. He kept to himself. If he got into trouble, he was alone… but the troubles he caused were mostly because of his curious nature. He was quite intelligent, inventing his own potions, his own spells. But he was seen by others as someone out of the ordinary… someone who didn't fit in, who didn't do the things that other usually students did. In his free time, he would he experimenting with transmutation circles instead of visiting Honeydukes,’

‘He was all alone…’ Taehyung said, feeling a tinge of pity for the father who wanted to steal him away from his mother.

‘Thankfully Professor Snape gave him company… and then there were the Dracwyn sisters who were kind enough to him. But don't ask Professor Snape about his school days. He doesn't like me sharing it with students,’ Dumbledore gave him a mischievous smile with twinkling eyes. Taehyung finally smiled a little and nodded.

‘Would you like some Berty Botts Taehyung?’ Dumbledore said, moving towards his coffee table to grab some sweets.

‘Professor, was my mother in school while… my f-father was too?’ It was still difficult for Taehyung to address him as his father.

‘Yes, for most of the years. Your mother was three years junior. But I think they befriended each other after school ended. So I'm afraid I can't relay their story to you from an observer's point of view. I'm sure your mother will tell you if you wish to know,’

‘I doubt it… I'm guessing she still thinks keeping me in the dark will protect me,’

‘She thought that once… but her mind has changed now… you must forgive her Taehyung, and forgive your friends too. If an old man like me can still make mistakes, I’m sure your 16 and 17 year old friends did the best they could do,’ Dumbledore said, bringing a jar of beans. Taehyung took a red one and popped it in his mouth, giving a sigh of relief as he tasted cherry instead of pepper.

‘Elkyres are extremely rare. It could be possible that the guild wanted to take you in since you are an Elkyre as well. They would’ve honed your skills from a young age, but they would’ve shown you only a tiny part of the world, moulded you to be what they wanted. Right now, from my knowledge there's only you and an old friend of mine, who is a master of fire,’

‘Another Elkyre… what's he like?’

‘ _She_ , is like anyone else. I don’t know where she is now. Last I knew she was exploring the Cayman Islands… But I'm still not able to fully comprehend why the Death Eaters want you,’

‘Was my father… a Death Eater?’

‘No… he wasn't. Another reason he was left out from the Slytherin circles. During the years of your parents at Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort was gaining his strong followers. Many Slytherins joined him since they believed in the supremacy of pure blood. But not all wanted to stay once they fully realized what Voldemort is. Pride and cruelty are two different things, something the other students did not understand. The Slytherins were proud beyond doubt. But not all were cruel of heart. The whole of House Slytherin had been black marked by then. Students from other houses did not want to have any association with any of the Slytherins. They didn't realize the evil they were brewing within themselves by this kind of differentiation. The already proud Slytherins decided that they did not need the friendship of such people and distanced themselves further,’

‘The scene hasn't progressed too far from that,’ Taehyung said recounting how his Slytherin friends where constantly judged by his housemates.

‘As long as there has been some kind of progress, all hope is not lost,’ Dumbledore smiled. ‘But we should get to the task at hand now,’ he took the jar of beans and kept them back on the coffee table. Dumbledore turned around to face Taehyung with purposeful eyes. ‘I called you here so that I can help you in learning to control your powers,’

‘How do I learn that?’

‘I will have to lift the seal I placed on you. Let us see how you do after that,’

‘L-lift the seal? What about my appearance? You know how different I look,’

‘I am hoping that if you control your powers, you will be able to control your appearance. That's what I infer from my Fire Elkyre friend. Are you ready Taehyung?’

The aspect of unlocking his powers again both scared and excited him. Taehyung nodded and stood up. Dumbledore brought his wand out and touched the centre of Taehyung’s chest. There was a spot of white light at the contact which spread slowly. Taehyung could feel the change within him, as the power surged from his chest to the ends of the limbs. He had his eyes closed, the soothing coolness taking over his entire being. When he felt the wand being taken away, he opened his eyes and found that the room had a thin layer of frost over it.

Dumbledore was looking around his frosted office. ‘Well, I'm glad it's not frozen into thick ice,’

‘What now?’ Taehyung asked, his eyes twinkling bluer than Dumbledore’s.

‘Try to recede the frost back into you,’ Dumbledore said.

Taehyung flexed his palms. How exactly should he that? Till now he had only spread out ice from him.

‘It's the power of your mind Taehyung,’ Dumbledore stated. ‘The mind is the most powerful entity that exists. Will it, and you will be able to do it,’

Taehyung tried, like he’s trying to call back the ice through a pull in his mind, but nothing was happening.

‘Well, I didn't say it would be easy. Take your time Taehyung. And be patient. Patience is key here,’

Taehyung nodded and closed his eyes, hoping that will help him concentrate better. His eyebrows were strained together and he felt something move within him, like a light current moving up and down within his limbs. He opened his eyes to see the frost moving, getting pulled in slowly and the excitement within him increased but his focus was still not solid enough for all of the frost to disappear. The movement of the frost was like a suction, getting pulled in then released again but Taehyung didn't give up yet.

He kept trying and only realised that a an hour had passed when he felt his knees going weak with exhaustion. His head was swimming and he really wanted to just lie down somewhere and gather some strength. Dumbledore sensed the fatigue in him and came over.

‘You did well for the first day,’ he kept a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

‘Did well? It took me an hour to pull all of it back,’ Taehyung said, his exhaustion aggravating the annoyance at his lack of abilities.

‘Like I said, this is not easy. You can't keep bringing yourself down Taehyung,’ Dumbledore said to him, the grip on his shoulder squeezing him lightly. ‘You should rest now. And see me tomorrow,’

‘Aren't you… aren't you going to seal my powers back again?’ Taehyung asked.

‘I don't see you whipping icicles around even though you spent a few strenuous hours trying to use your powers. When you were in the forest, you weren't out of control with it either. So I think it will do more harm in sealing your powers than letting it naturally flow in you,’

‘But… but what if I lose control?’

‘You won't, if you remember that you alone can will your powers into action,’

Taehyung gulped, biting his lower lip and then looked at Dumbledore again.

‘And what about my appearance?’

‘Oh yes. Almost forgot about that,’ Dumbledore chuckled. He waved his wand and Taehyung’s hair turned back to his usual brown. ‘Basic Transfiguration. I won't touch your eyes though. I think the eyes should be as they are. They are windows to the soul,’

‘But people will notice it for sure!’ Taehyung couldn't believe Dumbledore was being this normal about it.

‘If they do, tell them your eyes were always like this,’ Dumbledore winked at him. ‘Ah, there’s another piece of news I wanted to deliver to you,’ Dumbledore placed one hand over another and looked at him from over his half moon spectacles, ‘ Jeffery Thomas and Derreck Rosier, along with Gwen Osburne have been expelled from Hogwarts. Miss Osburne’s parents urged the Ministry to put her in St. Mungos, saying her mind isn’t stable. She keeps repeating whatever she said during the trial,’

Taehyung looked alarmed at that.

‘Don’t worry about it. She has no proof to support her claims. Rather, everyone is under the impression that she indeed has something like an alternate reality running in her mind and that’s why they were quick to send her to Mungos,’

‘Are you sure?’ Taehyung asked to which Dumbledore nodded reassuringly. ‘You have nothing to worry about Taehyung, trust me. Now off you go, get some rest,’

Taehyung nervously patted his hair down, wondering if the color will change at any contact. He bid Dumbledore goodnight and headed out, hoping not to bump into any classmate or the Gryffindor prefects.

_Lyrical Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Nostalghia - Gorgeous Creature](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7B0Yn7eC8&ab_channel=NostalghiasCorridor) _

He reached his room without encountering anyone. His three roommates were all fast asleep, light snoring coming from two of them. Taehyung moved silently about the room and stood in front of the tall mirror. He raised his eyes to look at himself. This was the first time he was seeing his true eyes clearly. The blue of it seemed alive, tiny silver swirls moving about, almost unnoticeable.

He looked down at his palms, willing some power to come forth and frost formed in beautiful swirls over his skin, appearing and disappearing, swirling all the way to his forearms. It was beautiful indeed. He looked back into the mirror, wondering which form of himself did his mother love the most? He was born with silver hair… did his mother prefer him with his hidden appearance for safety? If he walked into the Great Hall tomorrow with his silver hair and blue eyes, would people fear him?

He touched the mirror, swirls of frost spreading on the glassy surface, covering his reflection behind it.

The next morning, Taehyung woke up earlier than usual. He couldn’t sleep much the entire night, thinking about the possibilities of his powers, wondering the true extent of it. He wanted to learn so much more about what he’s capable of. He wanted to learn all there is to learn about Elkyres. Maybe then he’ll know what Voldemort wanted him for, why the alchemists are gathering Elkyres together. Where there others Elkyres too like the fire woman? He had so many questions but didn’t know where to look for the answers. Dumbledore was knowledgeable, but in the end, he wasn’t an Elkyre.

Taehyung sat on the bed, stretching his arms when his eyes fell on the letter from Jimin. His friends worried a lot about him, and he remembered what Jungkook said to him as well. Taehyung had made his decision, to go back to them, but there was still one thing he had to tell them… in particular, tell the Slytherin cousins because their situation was different than the rest of his friends.

He grabbed some parchment and wrote his letter to them.

*

Hoseok was in the Potions dungeon, arranging his equipments for the class.  _Draught of Living Death_ was written on the board in Snape’s long and gaunt writing. The potions master was not in yet but students were slowly filling in the seats. He saw his Slytherin friends enter and his chest tightened on it’s own seeing Ash and Jimin, the memories of last night fresh in his mind. He glanced up at Jimin who was walking a little away from the rest of his group and he wondered if Jimin was still angry at him. Ash looked up and gave a small smile before taking her seat. To Hoseok’s surprise, Yoongi occupied the seat next to her and Jimin was walking towards him.

‘Mind if I’m your partner for today?’ Jimin asked. Hoseok was too shocked to answer and after a few blank moments, he slowly nodded. Jimin chuckled and set up his books on the table. ‘You look stunned,’

‘I just… I’m sorry… I’m sorry for everything,’ Hoseok didn’t meet his eye, his hands slightly shivered in anxiousness as he set the glass apparatus.

‘Hey,’ Jimin held Hoseok’s shaking hand. ‘We’re good Hobi. I think it’s high time everything gets back to normal,’

Hoseok slowly nodded, brown eyes looking at Jimin endearingly, ‘Thank you Jimin,’

‘There’s nothing to thank me for… anyway,’ Jimin looked up at Snape who had just entered in a sour mood. ‘I hope you got better at potions because I don’t know how to do this complicated shit,’

‘Are you kidding me?’ Hoseok laughed, ‘I was counting on you to do this! You know I suck at potions!’

‘QUIET MR. JUNG!’ Snape tapped the blackboard sharply making Hoseok jump in his spot. ‘Now, you all have exactly 45 minutes to make a successful Draught of Living Death,’

The 45 minutes went in a lot of groaning and crying as they all tried their level best to create a colourless, odourless liquid. In the end, Snape was as always not too happy with the results but the best potion went to Laura Dracwyn as his biased Slytherin habits dictated.

‘I don’t even feel like I’ve achieved anything anymore,’ Laura looked at her milky white potion with disappointment.

‘Well, technically he didn’t say it was an amazing potion,’ Vanessa started to clear out their desk. ‘He just said it was better than the rest,’

Laura was about to open her mouth to argue further but found Vanessa looking at Yoongi perched on Hoseok’s desk, fondly adjusting the Hufflepuff’s collar.

‘Took them a while, didn’t it?’ Vanessa chuckled.

Laura didn’t know how to answer to that, being a witness to Vanessa’s messy break up with her cousin. ‘Umm… It’s good that you’re happy about it I guess,’

Vanessa looked back at her friend and smiled, ‘I am actually. I’m happy these two figured it out. I had to push Yoongi in the beginning because he was wallowing in guilt over the break up. Hoseok is sweet, I hope Yoongi takes care of him well,’

‘You’re too kind,’ Laura shook her head, ‘I don’t know how you do it,’

‘Both of them are my friends,’ Vanessa said. ‘I know people expect bitterness after a breakup but… Yoongi’s my childhood friend. I wouldn’t do that to him,’ and that was true for her. Despite how strongly she felt for him at some point, seeing him happy with Hoseok made her happy as well. Maybe Hoseok had a part in that too, because Vanessa knew that boy had a heart of gold.

‘Don’t you think they’re being a bit obvious though?’ Laura glanced at the couple again. ‘I mean… I wish that wasn’t a problem but… we can’t forget we have our Grandfather. There are plenty of things he doesn't like…’ Laura said, her mood turning sullen, remembering a certain letter that seemed to burn like hot iron inside her robe pockets.

When the infamous article by Rita Skeeter dropped, she knew her grandfather would write to her soon… but she had underestimated how bitter his words would be. Her grandfather was furious about the article. So furious that he had gotten Skeeter fired from the Daily Prophet but Laura sensed that journalist would somehow squirm her way back in. Such pests always found a way back to feed. They were like weeds, her Grandfather had said when he had taught certain life lessons to her and Yoongi. He said it was the workings of a lowly greedy mind, looking to gain out of the fall of greater people and they needed to be ripped from their roots before they grew strong enough to strangle you. Skeeter was either extremely dumb to have triggered the mighty dragon or extremely smart if she made her way back.

Seeing Vanessa’s quizzical look, Laura’s hands dug back into her pockets and retrieved the letter.

_Laura,_

_First and foremost, I believe that the Skeeter article involving you is utter nonsense, and I hope my belief is true. If not, I expect you to immediately clear the matter with me so that I can deal with it accordingly. It is unacceptable that such pieces of information be printed about anyone from the Dracwyn family, let alone the sole heir._

_I am aware, that you and that Kim Seokjin boy are not just acquaintances. It is difficult for me to believe that Kim Jiyeon’s son is the only link you both share. I am again reminding you of the expectations this family has from you. Whatever relationship you share with the two of them, I expect you to put at end to it immediately. Kim Taehyung has already cost me a member of my family. I will not let him and his mother bring further ruin to us. As for Kim Hyunseok’s son, I expect you to be smart about it. The reason that article made it to the printing press was because Kim decided to fold his hands and not do anything about it. That man is far more cunning than you can imagine. I cannot have you being pulled into the snares created by father and son. Remember who you are._

_Enough mistakes have been made out of carelessness. I now expect you to rein in your thoughts and emotions and act rationally in every situation that comes forward. That is what I will expect from my heir, if you are to carry on the legacy of this family. If you are not worthy of it, I cannot trust you to uphold the family name in the years to come._

_Grandfather_

Surely her grandfather was not serious about removing her name from being heir apparent. Who else will he choose to carry on his legacy? The three remaining people who shared his blood were aunt Averil, Yoongi and his little brother. He could not possibly think of merging the Dracwyn legacy with the Mins forever?

Hate would not be the term she would use to describe her relationship with her sole guardian. Rather she admired how strong and cunning her grandfather was, to have survived two wizarding wars. He had to deal with heavy losses, yet he managed to keep himself and the remaining of his family out of the Ministry’s claws. And even after the black-blooded label being slammed on them, he still garnered fearful respect from everyone. Somewhere with all the frustration she felt, this admiration was mingled within, that one day, Laura hoped she would command the same status that her grandfather and all forefathers before him had commanded of the wizarding world. Her mother had left the Dracwyn legacy in her hands and she earnestly wanted to do her best. Weakness would not do and to care too much made her feel vulnerable and exposed.

She knew Yoongi was the more open one among the two of them and she wished she could be as carefree as him. She still remembered the day of the dragon riding ceremony, when they were six and had to bond with a dragon. Yoongi had done it so effortlessly, like he was born for it… but for Laura, it hadn’t been so. She felt she had failed in her task and she still felt disappointed in herself every time she thought about it. That was one of the biggest reasons she always tried to do her best in whatever she did, to keep proving that she was a descendant of the royal dragon riders and not something mediocre. She had to alway be the best.

The sixth years filed out into the dungeon corridors for lunch and spotted the fourth years approaching with some assignment submissions.

‘Tae!’ Jimin waved at the boy excitedly. Taehyung looked up from his book and smiled back, though it wasn’t half as bright as his usual greetings. Jimin walked towards him and hugged him with a huge smile. ‘Tae! How are you? Will you join us for lunch?’

‘Actually…’ Taehyung started, the smile on his face still not a true one. He put his hands in his robe and retrieved an envelope. ‘This is for you…’ he looked at the cousins and handed the letter to Yoongi. ‘I’ll see you around,’ he said and left the six seniors.

Yoongi unfolded the letter from the envelope as Ash and Laura stood next to him, peering from his shoulders to read the contents.

_I am writing this because I don't think I can convey myself too well if I speak about this right now. I'm sorry I seemed ungrateful and rude earlier. I was trying to adjust to a new world and for a while I didn't know what was happening around me. It is not that I don't realize what you have done for me. I realize it fully well. And that's why I don't want a strained relationship between us. I understand the difficulties you face by befriending someone like me. I know the responsibilities on you because of the house and family you are from and that is why I want us all to be free of this pressure._

_I want us to remain friends, I really do. But I can't do the lying and the hiding anymore. If our friendship is such a liability then it's better to put it to rest, instead of living in the fear of being caught all the time. If one day, we can be friends and acknowledge each other in front of the world, then just know that I’ll be waiting, without any resentment or anger._

_Tae_

‘So that's it?’ Ash looked up. ‘Yoongi and Laura will keep themselves away from him? Your grandfather knows about Taehyung. He will not like it if you continued staying friends with him, would he?’ Ash asked.

Irritation creeped up Laura’s spine, Taehyung’s words adding to her grandfather’s. ‘Well I can't force him to be friends with us,’

‘So you are ok with not talking to him for.. I dunno, maybe the next 10 years?’ Yoongi asked in disbelief. ‘Or until grandfather doesn't care anymore? Which by the way is never gonna happen,’

Laura was silent as her jaw tightened. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away.

‘How much longer are we gonna live by these so called rules our  _great_  ancestors inflicted upon us?’ Yoongi continued. ‘I am gonna do whatever I feel like doing and I suggest you do the same. Or grow up to become those bitter, unhappy adults we all meet every year in those annual galas who are pretending to be happy because they’ve been told that honour and pride is far more important. Too afraid to live the way they really want to,’

With that Yoongi turned and left, leaving the five of them stunned as they watched him go. They glanced at Laura who didn't say anything. She looked like she was still gathering her thoughts. Jimin gestured all of them to leave for lunch and Laura silently followed them out.

The Slytherins entered the Great Hall but Laura halted her steps near the door.

‘What happened?’ Ash asked, seeing Laura wringing her fingers.

‘I need to do something,’ she said. ‘Jimin… could you come with me? You are the only one they are used to seeing often from our house,’

‘Who is used to seeing me?’ Jimin asked, lips pouted in confusion.

‘The Hufflepuffs,’ she said and Jimin understood. Ash nodded at Laura with a smile, happy that Yoongi’s words had the right effect on her.

Laura and Jimin went to the Hufflepuff table, coming to stand behind Taehyung. Laura looked nervous, completely out of place. She had learnt to ignore the judgemental stares she got from people. But this time it was different. This time those stares were going to watch her reveal her soft side, something she thought she would never let the world see.

‘Hey,’ she said in a small voice that startled Taehyung nonetheless. The brown haired boy slowly turned, mouth full of food, eyes wide.

‘Can we sit here for a bit?’ She asked. Taehyung nodded slowly, pushing Bogum a little to the side who frowned, pursing his lips. Laura and Jimin sat in that small space as Jimin waved to Leslie, the Hufflepuff prefect.

‘What are you doing here?’ Taehyung asked in a hushed voice.

‘Eating lunch with a friend,’ Laura said, picking a quiche from his plate. ‘You don't want me to?’

Taehyung looked at her, dumbstruck for a moment. ‘But….’ he said. ‘But, what about….’

‘I don't care about any of that. You said, no secrets, so, no secrets,’

But the whispers around them interrupted their conversation.

‘Why are the Slytherins here?’

‘They're talking to Tae,’

‘Like they haven't troubled him enough,’

Taehyung turned towards whoever made that last comment. His face was scary, fury flashing in his eyes.

‘These two never troubled me. They always helped me. Because of them, the real troublemakers have been expelled. So stop passing your ignorant judgement on them,’ Taehyung spoke firmly to the amazement of everyone around them. For the first time Taehyung had been this assertive and everyone was completely taken aback, some even intimidated. His hard eyes watched them till they returned to their own business.

They heard the laughter of two guys coming from the head of the table.

‘There's another one there,’ came another whisper.

All crane their necks to see Yoongi trying to feed Hoseok a piece of fruit from his fork. Hoseok looked embarrassed but bit the fruit, chewing it awkwardly. Yoongi seemed pleased and patted his back. His gaze turned to the other Hufflepuffs watching them with utmost wonder and Yoongi glared at them, instantly making them avert their eyes.

Laura’s eyes went up to the staff table where Snape was seated, looking in their direction. He was looking at Yoongi and Hoseok with his lips pursed and then his black eyes met Laura’s. He glanced at Taehyung for a moment and then looked back at her, a kind of fear mingled with disappointment on his face.

*

Jin had decided to retire to his bedroom early, hoping to catch up on some of the sleep he had missed, thanks to his visions and dreams seeping him in and out of reality and draining him of all energy. He felt especially strung out today, like his world was slowly crumbling and cracking around him, like he would break if he breathed a little more. He was curled under the blanket, slipping into his vision and he can see Namjoon standing five feet away from him. Five feet so far away that he can’t reach him with his words. And Namjoon turns his back on Jin. And Jin stayed in the same place, back on the tightrope except he can sense himself falling forward. His entire body spasms, jerking him awake from his already meagre and fitful sleep.

‘Fuck…,’ Jin whispers to himself, wiping the tears that had managed to leak out of his closed eyes. He had always put up a front of holding himself up in front of everyone. He was ‘The Prince,’ yet he felt the deepest, worried the most. Although he had always had Namjoon to rely on, the distance between them was hard on him. It’s been more than a week, since the trial and yet Jin doesn’t want to reach out, not with words, not with actions, not even with his intentions although they press against him to do whatever he needs to do to bring Namjoon back.

He was tempted, many a times to look into the future of what he and Namjoon become. He’s had fleeting glimpses of it but nothing too discerning. Yet, he held himself back from Seeing more of it. Namjoon was the one aspect of his life that he didn’t want to get influenced by his power to See. If he and Namjoon were meant to be, he wanted that one thing to happen of it’s own, not something Jin forced into existence because of whatever his visions showed him.

His breathing evened out, eyes traveling across the room to see Namjoon’s empty bed. The headboy still not returned from the prefects meeting.

The door to their room creaked open, and a sneaky Namjoon entered, managing to disturb the silence by accidentally dropping one of the record books in his arms. He cursed quietly, and noticed Jin sitting up in bed, sweat glittering on his forehead in the faint moonlight filtering in through the large windows.

‘Joonie,’ Jin called, but Namjoon continued to arrange the books on his messy table. They had managed to get a few minutes all to themselves, much to Namjoon's dismay. He hated that this talk has to happen. He hated how for the past few weeks he's been treading around Jin like he's walking on eggshells. But most of all, he hated how alone he felt.

‘Joonie,’ The nickname felt like a heavy knock against closed doors, and Namjoon’s body responded on its own accord. His eyes go against his command and glance at Seokjin. He really wished he hadn't done that, because Seokjin is painfully beautiful, especially in the cool moon light that shined down on them. His face is all shimmering skin and contrasting shadows, and it breaks Namjoon's heart how pained Seokjin's face looks. ‘You have to talk to me, Namjoon.’

Namjoon's heart broke a little more because he wanted to but he knows that he was in no position to. He lowered his head just to show Jin he was listening.

‘I-’ Jin starts, throat stiff and voice scratchy, ‘I don't know where to begin,’ he continues in a whisper, hands fiddling with the edge of his pajamas. Jin tried to keep his breath steady but it was hard. The stinging feeling behind his eyes was accompanied by a harsh lump in his throat. He'd been dreading this moment, confronting himself and his feelings towards his circumstances, his fears and insecurities. These were not easy things to speak about, not even to Namjoon. But really, he should be able to talk to Namjoon about this, because Jin had always relied on him for support. But with all the ambiguous and unsettled words hanging between them, Jin felt unsure. He felt uneasy. But he had to speak to someone and he chose Namjoon. Seokjin just hoped Namjoon would understand that he would always choose Namjoon.

‘It makes me angry,’ Seokjin finds himself saying, ‘It makes me angry that I have to be treated this way. Like some kind of spectacle. I’m a puppet, Joon. I would rather be kicked out of the family but they aren’t even giving me that option.’ Jin is holding himself close now, like he would shatter into a million pieces if he didnt. ‘I'm angry because suddenly I'm all alone.’

‘Jin-’ Namjoon doesn’t need to ask him what he is talking about. He knows already, he can see the damage of his decisions on Seokjin’s face, his words and his mental state. The guilt consumes him for having chosen to act without reflection when already Namjoon knows of Jin’s father. The world would rather offer safe haven and protection to things not worth protecting rather than actually changing for the better.

Jin can't see Namjoon's face, eyes blurry with tears, but he felt him move to sit next to him, to hold him from breaking. Jin didn't know when or how, but he found himself sobbing into Namjoon's chest, fists curled around the fabric of Namjoon's thin shirt, incoherent words slipping from his lips. Jin hated how useless and pathetic he felt that moment. He cried, more than he had ever let himself cry before. He was enveloped in the warmth of Namjoon and barely registered the additional tears that fall onto his shoulder, and a voice at his ear apologizing over and over again.

That night, Namjoon slept in Seokjin's bed. Jin’s face pressed to Namjoon’s neck and Namjoon’s hands holding Jin close making sure he didn’t fall apart.

They slept soundly that night, putting to rest all the exhaustion of a fortnight, not stirring until it was past their wake up time.

Namjoon could hear some birds faintly chirping from one of the nests on the outer wall of the Gryffindor towers. He pressed his palms upon his closed eyes, skin warm from sleep, but the cold still made its way beneath his skin making him shiver slightly as he tried to escape the tangled blankets around his feet. The loose strands of his light hair comically bounced in rhythm to his desperate attempts at evading a contact from the floor. His gangly feet were uncooperative to his commands and he quickly became a victim of gravity. This fall was kinder than the ones he had had tripping over the trick staircase as he walked down them, head full of thoughts. Gaze lingering on Jin walking a few feet away from him, he had somehow allowed his entire left ankle to be swallowed by the trick stair.

Namjoon rolled over his back, hoisting himself up to see the empty room. Confusion foremost in his mind, and he was still not clear with what he wanted to do, apart from the one clear thought that made him smile. He liked Jin. He was going to see himself through this, to be by Jin’s side for as long as their fate allowed them to be.

Namjoon flushed a bit when he remembered how Jin had felt settled close against him, awakening new dimensions to their casual skinship from before. He supposed the other had already left for breakfast. He chuckled clearly expecting to hear an answer along the lines of being extra hungry because of all the crying.

The common room was relatively filled as Namjoon walked down in his school uniform, still stretching his arms over his head, fiddling with the few buttons and fastenings that were yet to be done up. He yawned wide, hair a mess of overlapping strands.

‘Morning,’ Jin greeted from his chair, placing down the brochures from the NEWTS trainers on the table and getting up. He reached up on his toes as Namjoon stood stock still, a little awestruck seeing Jin up close after yesterday. Namjoon wanted to touch his soft, smiling lips but he felt Jin patting his messy hair back in place, fingers carding through the light strands settling them into order at the back of his head. Namjoon blushed at the intimate action, bending his head lower so Jin wouldn’t have to stretch so much and a dimpled smile lit up his face.

‘I know I promised my father,’ Jin said, hands resting on Namjoon’s shoulders. ‘But, I can’t make myself do something that doesn’t feel right. I can’t keep my promise to him,’

‘You shouldn’t have to Jin,’ Namjoon looked at him in the eye. ‘Not when he’s being unfair. There’s no guilt in that, do you understand?’

Jin nodded, feeling lighter at Namjoon’s words. His hands travelled down to grab Namjoon’s wrists.

‘Breakfast? We don’t have much time left before class,’

Namjoon smiled, walking out of the crimson common room with Jin, ‘You actually waited up for me? That’s a new level of patience!’

‘Shut your trap, and be thankful! I’m so hungry I can eat these stupid brochures!’

*

The Slytherins were walking back to their common room after the last class of charms with the Gryffindors. Jimin felt a little jumpy, goosebumps arising on his skin whenever he heard some whispers that seemed to be directed towards him. If he looked up, he saw some of the Gryffindors quickly avert their eyes from him. Was he being paranoid? Or was there really something going on?

He stopped in his tracks when something came flying towards him in the corridor. It was a piece of crumpled paper, floating at his eye level and Jimin grabbed it, uncurling it.

It looked like an article cut out from today’s Daily Prophet. The image was of a group of Aurors, posing proudly with Cornelius Fudge as he handed them a badge of honour.

‘Jimin?’ Yoongi was beside him, looking at the piece of paper as well.

The headline read -  ** _Brave Aurors Bring Down Notorious Pack of Werewolves._** _Minister awards group of 10 Aurors for this extremely dangerous but successful mission._

But what really pulled their attention were the words running over the article, written in hand and a bright orange ink - WEREWOLVES WILL BE PUNISHED.

‘Are people really this sick,’ Yoongi spat out, grabbing the paper from Jimin’s hand, and igniting it without even an incantation. ‘Jimin, don’t fret about this bullshit. I’m gonna find out who did this, I’ll put those fuckers in detention for a month!’

‘The ministry is hunting werewolves again?’ Jimin looked at Yoongi. The older chewed on the insides of his cheek before choosing to answer with the truth.

‘They were always hunting the  _Death Eater_  werewolves Jimin. And you don’t have to worry about that. This doesn’t concern you no matter how much these assholes try to push their delusional agenda,’

But Jimin was not at peace from Yoongi’s words, mostly because he had been called by Snape, and this was out of his regular visits for wolfsbane.

‘I have to go to Snape, he’s called for me,’

*

Jimin sat on the chaise, watching a glass tube with red and yellow liquid dancing together, creating fissures. He watched it with utmost concentration, fists curled over his knees, until the bubbles died to leave just blood… his blood. The prick on his forearm still itched from when the needle had been pushed in and removed but he didn't bother scratching it. He was aware of his two friends behind him, watching the tube with equal interest. Both Yoongi and Ash had drowned his protests and accompanied him to Snape’s chambers.

‘What does it mean?’ Yoongi asked.

‘What I had tried…’ Snape’s nasal tone harboured disappointment. ‘Did not work…’ he stood up from his chair and walked towards the back of his room. ‘We need to inform Dumbledore. I think it's already too late,’

‘No we are not informing Dumbledore!’ Yoongi was aggressive. ‘Professor, who knows what he’ll do in the name of keeping his students safe. Jimin is not a danger to anyone, he is like he always was,’

Ash was clutching both her hands tightly, feeling them get clammy. This couldn't be happening… Snape said Jimin would be alright. He said Jimin would be alright.

‘But he's doing whatever you told him to’ Ash said. ‘He's not missed one dose of wolfsbane! Why… why hasn't it worked?’

‘I have tried my best Vorhart, but I am not a Lycanthrope healer,’ Snape’s anger was emerging on the surface now. ‘We should tell Dumbledore, and Jimin’s parents,’

‘Do you really trust Dumbledore so much Professor?’ Yoongi asked.

‘Jimin is not the first student with a Lycan condition to be studying in the school. We have… had a full grown werewolf student and he could remain a secret and successfully graduate because of Dumbledore,’

‘Who was he?’ Ash asked. Snape looked away and answered only after a while. ‘He was a fellow batchmate. I did not know much about him. He was in Gryffindor,’

‘Half of the students already know something's up,’ Yoongi lashed out. ‘I'm not gonna sugar coat this. They already call him a werewolf and you want more people to know about this?’

‘Mr. Min you are still only a student here. Don't presume to know better than me and argue with me about this,’

‘So it won't heal?’ Jimin finally spoke between all the raised voice. ‘My blood will always carry the venom?’

‘I'm afraid so. You need to take wolfsbane more frequently and keep it under control. If you don't, the venom will increase and you  _may_  transform,’ Snape said.

‘There has to be a cure! It can be cured till you become a full werewolf, I know it! And Jimin did not transform for the last two full moon, which means he still has time!’ Ash said.

Snape looked at her, his eyes studying her face and then looked away. ‘I told you I did what I could. I can't help you anymore,’

Jimin was not meeting anyone’s eye. He stood up, his face bearing a facade of being ok. ‘Thank you, professor, for all that you did,’ he nodded and without a glance at anyone, walked out the door hurriedly.

‘Jimin!’ Yoongi ran behind him and so did Ash. But something made her stop at the door. She watched Yoongi follow Jimin out of the dungeon corridor and then turned towards Snape.

‘There is a way isn't it?’ She asked him again.

‘Vorhart I told you I did what I-’

‘You did what  _you_  could. But there are others. You said there are people specialising in Lyncanthrope study,’

‘If Park’s was an infection from a regular werewolf, my methods would've worked,’ Snape said, stashing the used needle away.

‘But his infection is from Skoll. A metamorphosed werewolf,’ Ash said.

‘Skoll’s venom has a different chemical structure because of the metamorphosis gene. I don't know how to break it,’

‘But there might be someone who knows?’

‘No one has studied Skoll’s venom but Skoll himself. And he’s dead,’

There was a silence hanging in the room. Snape was looking at Ash, jaws hard but black eyes flickering like he wasn't sure of something.

‘And?’ Ash urged him on. She needed to know, any possibility, a small flicker of hope, just anything. They couldn't give up without trying.

‘Skoll had his own army. People he transformed. After Skoll, they are the only ones who know most about this hybrid venom,’

Ash stood there frozen like she had been mentally slapped.

‘Those werewolves are death eaters,’ her voice shivered.

Snape gave a curt nod, continuing his work of stashing his equipment away.

‘They won't help us….’ Ash said, more to herself than to Snape. ‘Will they? Will they!?’

‘Everything has its price,’ Snape said. ‘You should go now Vorhart. It's time for my class,’ he said, walking to the door, indicating that she leave now. Ash’s jaw worked as she gave Snape one last smouldering look and stormed out.

How could the situation become this helpless that the only ones who could help Jimin were Death Eaters? Would anyone of them be willing to help Jimin without asking for something in return? She had read about how the werewolf packs worked. Their aim was to take in as many of them as possible and if they learnt that Jimin was infected, instead of helping him, they will pull him in. Approaching them was not an option…. not an option at all. The fact that Jimin’s venom is not healing could absolutely not be revealed to another soul on earth.

She was walking in the dungeon corridor, lost in her own thoughts when Jimin came walking towards her from the other side, unnoticed by her. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to the side.

‘Jimin!’ She looked at him startled. He looked serious, eyes burning and jaws hard.

‘It's ok,’ he said to her, breathing out. She looked at him disbelievingly.

‘How are you… what?’ She asked him.

‘We should tell Dumbledore,’ Jimin said. ‘Don't you agree?’

‘I… I guess so,’ Ash said. ‘He knows all the important wizards. He might know a Lycan healer-’

‘He should know what precautions to take,’ Jimin cut her. ‘For the other students,’

‘Precautions!?’ Ash looked outraged. ‘Jimin! There is no need for any of that. You are not.. you are not…’ her voice weakened as her hands curled on his chest.

‘For now,’ Jimin said weakly as well.

‘No. Nothing is going to happen,’ Ash said. ‘Nothing's happened yet. It's been two months. Two moons have passed and nothing has happened. And nothing will happen,’

Jimin leaned against the stone wall.

‘I'm telling myself it's going to be ok. I don't know what else to do,’

Ash hugged him silently. The only other thing they could do was approach a Death Eater… how could she tell him that?

‘It will be like a regular medicine, this wolfsbane. I'm learning to get accustomed to the whole thing, so let's not worry. I can keep it under control and till then Dumbledore will figure something out,’

Ash nodded, wondering how he could be so strong.

‘We’re getting late for class,’ he had to be strong for the people who cared for him. He had to smile so that he doesn't worry them.

‘How… I'm surprised how you are so ok with it!’

‘What else can I do?’ He said, still keeping his calm. ‘What else can anyone do? Sometimes you gotta live with it. We gotta learn to live with it. Like Tae is learning. Like Hobi is learning… I used to tell this to Hobi when he had his difficult days. I told this to Tae when his powers broke out. But I realized I wasn't following my own words,’

‘What...?’

‘You can't sit and cry over things you can't control, while the good things of your life pass you by and you are too engrossed in your sorrow to live the happiness that is already around you. You can't live like that.

‘Smile for me please?’ his fingers trailed her furrowed eyebrows. ‘I'm not alone and that's what matters,’ he bent down slightly and lifted her up. ‘If you don’t smile I’ll carry you to class like this,’

Ash laughed lightly, hitting his arm. ‘Do you wanna freak out McGonagall? She’ll put us both in detention,’

‘As long as it’s with you-’

‘I’m sure it will be a separate detention,’ Ash chuckled. Jimin slowly put her down and they walked to their classes.

*

Namjoon sat across Dumbledore in the Headmaster’s office. There was a small ice sculpture on the table. It wasn’t refined. The rugged edges showed a rough form of Fawkes the phoenix.

‘I told him to try something simpler,’ Dumbledore said. ‘But he said he wanted to try and create Fawkes,’

‘And? What do you think?’ Namjoon asked.

‘It has innumerable imperfections. But, it’s not melting. What do you presume from that?’

Namjoon bent forward on his chair, fingers joining at the tips and chin resting against them. He was looking at the ice sculpture thoughtfully. He stretched out a finger and touched it. When he brought the finger back, he had expected it to be wet with melted ice but instead there was frost on his fingertip.

‘Power…’ Namjoon said and looked at Dumbledore. ‘He… he doesn’t know how to use it accurately, but he is powerful,’

‘Very powerful,’ Dumbledore said, looking at Namjoon from over his half moon spectacles. The Headmaster stood up from his chair and paced the room to the coffee table where he poured some tea from a silver kettle.

‘Do you know how dangerous that is?’ He asked Namjoon.

‘But professor… you can train him,’

‘One can try… but what Taehyung will grow up to become is quite heavily in the hands of his friends and family,’

‘We will always be there for him,’ Namjoon stood up as well.

‘And tell him that he cannot use his powers?’ Dumbledore asked, turning to face Namjoon.

‘If being an Elkyre is not a sin, then why should we forbid him?’

‘The Ministry will not sit quiet thanks to Gwen’s incessant pleadings. It is a proven fact that Elkyric powers are genetic. And they will trace his parentage when they hear of his powers. You might wonder why that is a problem,’

Dumbledore came towards Namjoon and handed him the cup of tea. ‘The ministry hasn’t let this be known to public. Rather, this investigation is one of the most secretly guarded ones,’

‘What investigation?’

‘Investigation of the Alchemic Guild, for creation of certain substances,’

Namjoon’s eyes widened when he heard the last two words.

Dumbledore pulled open his desk drawer and removed an old, red, leather bound book. He pushed it towards Namjoon who picked it up, observing it carefully. The golden impressions on the sides were letters in ancient runes. In the center of it was a vertical rhombus. On each vertice of it, where four symbols - The haetae, the crescent moon, the dragon and a spiral inside a water droplet.

‘Are these…’ Namjoon asked, fingers tracing over the symbols.

‘Kim, Min, Dracwyn and Aquirys… and yes, they are who you think they are,’

‘Aquirys was…’

‘The only known Elkyre in Taehyung’s bloodline. He was a water elkyre. His descendents inherited control of other forms of water - air and ice,’

Namjoon looked at the cover again. The title of the book in ancient runes translated roughly to The Red War.

‘Once you finish reading this, I will tell you more about the Ministry’s investigations and why they are banned.’

Namjoon held the book excitedly in his hand and made his way to the clubroom. Jin was with Hoseok and Jimin, both seemed to be teasing the Hufflepuff about something.

‘How dare you not tell your best friends about this?’ Jin quirked up his eyebrow at Hoseok. ’I had to find out from my roommate pulling my attention to Yoongi feeding you in the middle of the entire Great Hall!’

‘Stop torturing him!’ Namjoon sat beside them, completing the circle. ‘Though may I add, I’ve never seen you blush like this Hobi,’ he added with an evil grin, earning a kick from Hoseok’s heel.

‘What is happening between our Kookie and Dracwyn?’ Hoseok asked, trying to deviate the focus from his love life.

‘Why don't you ask Kookie? I'm sure his reactions will be as golden as he is,’ Jin cackled, throwing his head back. ‘Oh my god, I'm gonna make his life hell now,’ his laughter slowly dissipated and his mouth moved before he could stop himself. ‘Everyone's falling in love meanwhile-’ he cuts off.

There is a moment of silence before Namjoon asks, body turned towards Jin. ‘Meanwhile what?’

Jin shakes his head. ‘Nothing,’

‘Tell me!’

‘All these kids will start dating each other,’ Jin’s words rolled awkwardly and a little too quickly, ‘Meanwhile the two of us, the oldest will literally just end up being their parents without… without...’ he made a gesture from his hands as if denoting another person sitting beside them. Namjoon returned the nervous chuckle, averting his eyes from Jin.

‘Then why don't you two start dating?’ Jimin blurted out and then pulled his lips in pretending like he didn't just realize what he said.

‘W-what?’ Namjoon asked nervously, acting like he hadn't heard him properly.

‘I mean, start dating… whoever you like to date,’ Jimin said.

‘Well…’ Jin sighed.

‘You are already an old man Jin,’ Jimin sniggered. ‘Don't waste more time,’

‘I am just a year older than you! And no one, young or old can match my charms so call me what you want,’ he flicked his hair again.

‘What’s in your hand?’ Hoseok poked at the red book in Namjoon’s grasp.

‘Oh! Almost forgot! Dumbledore gave me this book, I think he stole it from the Ministry,’ Namjoon said. ‘It’s about the Red War. It might hold the answers we couldn’t find in Jin’s old books.

‘Maybe we should discuss this with the whole group,’ Jimin said.

‘Alright let’s call them after class,’ Namjoon said. ‘Where should we meet?’

‘There's a room,’ Hoseok said, placing his elbows on the table. ‘On the seventh floor,’

‘That room is not real. It's an age old rumour,’ Jin said, folding his arms and sitting back on his chair.

‘It appears only to people who need it. Did you go to it just check it out or did you actually need something at that time?’ Hoseok asked.

‘You’ve been in it?’ Namjoon asked.

‘No, but one of my seniors swore that he went into it. When he really needed a place to hide from some nasty Slytherins trying to bully him into doing their detention chores. Since then he started using it as his secret spot. He told this only to me and another guy,’

‘Is this the rumoured room across the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry?’ Jimin asked and Hoseok nodded.

‘How do we get in?’ Namjoon asked.

‘My senior said, walk 3 times across it thinking of what you need. A door will appear and you walk through it,’

‘Alright, let's meet there after lunch. It's worth a shot. We can't meet in our usual ground floor room, it's too open to the public eye,’

‘Alright. How about we give each group a time difference of 10 minutes to show up at the place so that we all aren't seen going to the same spot at the same time?’ Namjoon said.

‘Good idea. I'll pass the msgs around,’ Namjoon said. ‘I’ll use Emina’s network of stealthy memos,’

*

Taehyung was in his room, writing a letter at his desk but the croaking of a raven outside his window kept distracting him.

‘Shouldn't you sleep raven? It's past sunset,’ Taehyung spoke to the bird who only blinked its reddish eyes and croaked again. Taehyung grabbed a packet of wafers, throwing some for the bird. The bird looked at Taehyung curiously, turning its head from one side to another and then pecked on the wafers on the window sill. The boy smiled a bit and returned to writing the letter. It was to his step father, something he usually never did. But he had to since his step dad had unusually written him a letter as well.

_‘Dear Tae,_

_I miss you, I hope you are doing fine. If you wish to come home, please just let me know. I am not from your world, maybe I don't understand the intensity of all that has happened, but I am really worried for you. Just know that I will be here for you if you ever need me. I will help in whatever way I can._

_I understand your anger towards your mom. But please understand she was only trying to protect you. Maybe you won't understand that, till you have a child of your own. Even I was not supportive of Jiyeon’s decision to hide the truth from you, until I held you as a new born baby for the first time. At that time, all both of us could think of was shielding you from all that could harm you. Jiyeon did not anticipate someone would intentionally try and do this, otherwise, I know for a fact she would've told you the truth. We both are truly sorry. Please talk to your mother again? I'm worried for her as well. She does not eat, she's falling sick. Don't punish her for trying to protect you Tae, please write to her?_

_And, for whatever has happened in the past, with you and your father, please don’t ever hold yourself responsible for it. Sometimes some things happen that are not in anyone’s control or intention. You are our beautiful son Tae, and will always remain that no matter what, because we know you and your heart is pure._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Taehyung sighed, glancing at the letter and then pressed his quill to his parchment, watching the ink spread for a while before moving his hands to start writing.

_Dear Dad,_

_I am doing much better now, please don't worry so much about me. I have good friends who take really good care of me. They are always there when I need them. You must be remembering Namjoon. He really is like a big brother and is always watching out for me. You had really liked him remember? So you don't have anything to worry about. Professor Dumbledore is also helping me a lot._

_Please tell mom to eat well? Tell her I am not angry with her anymore. Please take care of her._

_Everything is going well here so please, you both don't have to worry about a thing. I am happy and having lots of fun. Remember I told you I joined the Quidditch team? I'm the seeker, the one who has to catch the tiny golden ball and only then the game ends. And guess what? Hoseok has a boyfriend now. He thinks no one knows it yet but we all know._

_I am really happy here so you two please stop worrying. Tell mom not to overthink and relax._

_Please take care of her and yourself._

_Love,_

_Tae_

He leaned back after writing his name. He was happy wasn't he? Everything was going alright. His quidditch training was going well. His friends were happy. He was supposed to be happy when everything was going well.

But he still pretended. Only when he was alone, with his thoughts left to himself did he realize he was mostly pretending for the world so that they would stop worrying about him. It was the least he could do after burdening all of them because of his powers. But he was going to be alright, he hoped. He should be, with Dumbledore helping him and Namjoon looking after him. He wished it was easy to convince his restless mind that it was going to be ok. He was not going to harm another person like he harmed his father… He was going to learn control. He had to… or he couldn't live with himself. The unsurety of whether he will be able to do that in time was scaring him.

As he sealed the letter, he saw a blue memo flying towards him. Inside was a note in Namjoon’s writing -

_5th floor, across Barnable Tapestry. 11PM._

The memo burned itself the moment Taehyung finished reading it. He checked the clock, it was 10:45PM. He decided to head to the place.

When he was at the common room door, Hoseok met him and both headed to the place together.

‘What is this about?’ Taehyung asked.

‘Namjoon found some information about your Elkyre ancestor. He wants to tell us about,’

‘My ancestor!?’ Taehyung’s blue eyes widened and an anticipation filled him. Was he finally going to get all the answers he was seeking?

They reached the tapestry of Barnabas trying to teach some trolls how to ballet. Opposite this was a blank grey bricked wall.

‘We gotta walk 3 times across it, thinking of what we need,’ Hoseok said.

‘And what do we need?’

‘A safe, meeting room,’

The Hufflepuff pair walked across the wall thrice, hoping no one saw them and thought they had turned mad but to their relief a small wooden door appeared on the wall.

‘This is it,’ Hoseok said, holding the door knob. Both were full of anticipation as to what could be awaiting them inside.

The door opened to a room which instantly made them feel they were standing inside the sun during sunset. There were hues of red, pink, yellow and orange across all four walls, making the edges disappear. Silhouettes of trees were painted into the walls. It was like a sunset sky. In the centre of this room was a long white table with white chairs. The floor was distressed and rugged, like rough sand solidified overtime.

‘Wow,’ Taehyung said in awe of the room. His blue eyes looked lilac in the warm hues being reflected off them. They heard the door open and NamJin step in.

‘Red…’ Jin said, looking around the room. ‘How…’ 


	10. The Red War

 

**_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[The Red War Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOQPp2RAvAU&index=1&list=PLUDirXPAWEhIQ7HHXoNnYwNmmRwtxL6qJ&ab_channel=RaminDjawadi-Topic) _ **

 

 

 

 

‘Red…’ Jin said, looking around the room. ‘How…’

‘Remember the room turns into what you need it to,’ Hoseok said. ‘Maybe it's showing us what the war turned the world into,’

The four walked to the table. Ash, Jimin and Jungkook were already seated. Namjoon gestured Jin to take the head seat and he sat beside him.

‘Where are the rest?’ Jungkook asked.

‘They’re right behind us,’ Hoseok pointed to the door and on cue the door opened with the last two members of their ‘circle of trust’ walked in.

Yoongi and Laura took in the breathtaking visuals of the room, circling their head around to see it all. Then Yoongi turned to Jin completely dumbfounded.

‘What's this about?’ He asked.

‘The Red War,’ Jin stated, taking his seat, posture resounding his princely state. Yoongi’s jaw hardened and Laura’s gaze studied Kim Seokjin. So they were here to discuss the 800 year old war that started the animosity between their houses. The pair of siblings walked ahead to the other side of the table, Yoongi taking the seat right opposite Jin, sending a message of ‘there can be two heads to this table.’ The rest seated themselves around the two ends and by the end of it, the demarcation was quite evident- Slytherins to one side and the rest to the other, Jungkook and Taehyung taking the centre seats.

Yoongi leaned forward, elbows on the table and fingers entwined. His lilac eyes were icy, ‘So what have you told them? About the Red War?’

‘Only what's in this book,’ Namjoon said, sliding the book towards the Slytherins. Laura stopped the book with her palm as it came towards them and flipped through it, finding the page she wanted.

‘Lies,’ she spat, throwing the book back on the table. Taehyung lunged forward and took the book. He realized it was in ancient runes and shut it, looking at both sides with big eyes carrying a hundred questions.

‘I think you should start from the beginning,’ Taehyung said. ‘Before breaking into your arguments,’

‘Alright,’ Jin gave in, stopping himself from arguing with Laura. ‘I’ll start from the very beginning and add whatever new information Namjoon has found in this book from Dumbledore,’

‘Let’s hear it then,’ Yoongi said, sitting back in his chair.

Jin opened the book and took his wand out, ‘Aspectu Magnificare,’ his wand outlined the edges of the page. The hand drawn image on the book rose up like a hologram for all to see. It was of a battlefield, soldiers with swords and spears in mid fight.

‘Centuries before the statue of secrecy was established, the world was ruled by powerful families. And some of these families were of magic blood. Among them, four families concern us in the story of the Red War,’ Jin’s wand tapped another image, one of an oriental castle in the clouds, ‘The Mins,’ Jin’s eyes looked at Yoongi and everyone’s eyes turned to the blonde Slytherin as well. Jin continued, ‘The Mins were a royal eastern clan who drew their power from the moon dragons. They were known to have milky skin, light eyes and light hair. They were especially skilled at healing. The Kingdom was ruled by the monarch Min Yongho and a council of 6 priests and priestesses,'

 

 

 

 

 

 

_Artist : ChaoyuanXu_

 

_Artist : Elbenherzart_

 

_Artist : Unknown_

 

_Artist - Ameilee Sullivan_

 

 

_Artist : Unknown_

'With their healing powers, the strength and vitality of their soldiers was unmatched. Their army was known as moonriders, often seen travelling the night skies on white dragons. They were a peaceful people, with no cause to fight other noble families. The monarch had one weapon which was held with immense prestige - A bow and arrow which was said to dispel all dark power. But the weapon could only be wielded by someone with a pure and righteous heart. Am I right Min Yoongi?’

‘You are,’ Yoongi nodded. ‘Though no one has seen that weapon since some generations. Its hard to maintain a pure and righteous heart,’

‘When was it last seen?’ Hoseok asked him.

‘One of my ancestors who was said to have used it last sealed it under the black waters of the throne some 300 years ago,’ Yoongi shrugged. ‘Go on Seokjin,’

‘The Min dynasty were known as the kingdom of health and happiness, bearing good relations with other nobles through their expertise in healing. They would send their skilled healers to various parts of the world to provide help to the people and communities struck with diseases. Many outsiders tried to find this kingdom but lost their way or drowned in the surrounding great lake. No one had touched this kingdom until the Red War struck. Their location was a secret, hidden among the high, misty mountains in the east, and I guess even Yoongi isn’t allowed to tell us it’s location,’

Yoongi shrugged smugly at that, ‘I would tell you if you win my trust,’

Jin resisted rolling his eyes, ‘Moving on… to the Kims,’ Jin pulled up at image of a castle that shined, made of a gold and red.

_Artists : unknown_

  

 

  

‘The Mins and Kims were what you could call… neighbouring kingdoms trying their best to be at peace with each other but not always succeeding at it. Kims resided in the heart of the gold mountains, making them the richest family in the entire world. They were the clan with trade relations extending to every corner of the world. Liked by both the muggle and wizarding rulers, they indirectly influenced political decisions in every important noble family. It was as if they latently ruled the entire high born community. The Kim dynasty had the largest eastern army under them. Their wealth literally bought them anything and everything from materialistic substances to people's loyalties. They were considered benevolent rulers, being able to supply every need of their subjects.

The Kim army would ride to battle on mighty Haetaes. Haetaes were extremely strong beasts, able to tear anything apart or break whatever blocked their way. They could trample down a whole army of foot soldiers or fly long distances, launching attacks from the sky,’

_Artist : Kekai Kotaki_

‘Do you still keep them?’ Yoongi asked, eyes looking at Jin with suspicion.

‘Well, they aren’t native to Europe so no,’ was Jin’s answer.

‘I see,’ Yoongi smirked slightly, knowing his extended family in the east must still be having some of these beasts.

Jin did not respond further to Yoongi's knowing looks and turned the page, ‘The third clan, is the Dracwyn clan,’ The image of of a tall castle rose from the page. The dark fortress had high, ominous towers rising around it, stone dragons coiling the length of it.

‘From the dragon inhabited forests of Romania,’ Jin continued, ‘emerged the bloodline of the Dracwyns. They were known as the Fire Dragon riders. Proximity with the natural habitat of the dragons helped them learn the secrets to taming the most powerful and dangerous beasts that roamed land and sky. Their strength, which came from unquenchable dragonfire was formidable. Kingdoms, wizarding or muggle, feared the land of the dark haired and purple eyed Dracwyns,’ He turned the pages to the dragons, and they could see the difference between these beasts and the ones from the Min dynasty. The moon dragons of the east resonated formidable wisdom, while the European fire dragons showed sheer violent strength with their armour like bodies, strong claws and dragon fire.

_Artist : Rene Aigner_

 

_Artist : Shen Fei_

 

_Artist : Deigo_

 

_Artist : Stefan Stankovic_

 

_Artist : Megatruth_

 

_Artist : Gyor G_

‘The Dracwyns ruled with fear and fire. They had the most intimidating and frightening army, with the highest chosen officials riding to war on ferocious dragons, bigger than anyone had ever seen. The soldiers were trained to bear any kind of pain and return the same threefold. Their methods of punishment were considered to be extreme by the other noble families,’

‘And now we finally come to Aquirys, the water elkyre,’ Jin looked at Taehyung who’s eyes twinkled brightly.

‘The Aquirys family gained importance in the few years before the Red War began. Not much is known about the man who called himself Aquirys before he became renowned for his powers. He had no wealth or name. In fact the true name of the individual who calls himself ‘Aquirys’ is unknown since he fashioned this name for himself after becoming an extremely powerful water Elkyre.

Namjoon opened the book to a page with the portrait of a man with blue eyes and long silver hair. He wore a metal headband adorned with blue stones, the middle one carved like a water drop. Jimin looked at the portrait and then at Taehyung.

_Artist : (Our Beloved) Yimei Zhu_

 

_Artist : Unknown_

‘He has your eyes,’ Jimin said. ‘Wow, its identical,’

‘He was a water Elkyre, but from the book, it seems like he was a master of the highest level, with control over all forms of water- including air and ice,’ Namjoon said.

‘Which might explain how you are ice and your father was air,’ Jin stated.

Taehyung was gazing at the image of his ancestor with the widest eyes. He looked ethereal, god-like and Taehyung could indeed see himself in him- the silver hair, the blue eyes. He wondered if one day he could become like him?

‘Aquirys first became known when he brought relief to the dry lands of the Middle East of Asia. He was worshipped as a God by the commoners, and this was seen as a threat by the emperors of that land. They sought to buy him and control him. When they realized he was very much like the elemental powers he had - uncontrollable, they tried to capture him, kill him, make him disappear but Aquirys fled to southern Europe, where he joined fellow Elkyres and Alchemists who had gathered in the south of Spain.

In Spain, the alchemists from Arabia, Greece and a few other countries had gathered. This was the beginning of the Alchemist's Guild. They were conducting some experiments to create a weapon that will grant them all the wealth in the world, all the power and… immortality,’ Jin said, turning the pages to reveal various transmutation circles and charts. The symbols were barely recognisable to the Alchemy students present there.

‘Could this be the weapon that You Know Who wanted as well?’ Namjoon wondered, eyebrows narrowed in deep concentration as he rubbed his chin.

‘And were these Alchemists successful in making it?’ Jimin asked.

Jin turned the page once again, showing a big red stone resting on a golden stand, ‘Looks like they were successful. Their leader successfully created this weapon.... The Philosopher’s Stone,’

_Artist : Rzanchetin_

‘The… the philosopher’s stone?’ Jungkook asked, blinking in disbelief. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Do any of your versions tell anything about it?’ Jin asked the Min-Dracwyns.

‘I thought the reason this was called the red war was because of the amount of wizard and muggle blood shed,’ Ash said.

‘Some of our scripts,’ Laura said. ‘Does state that the Red King’s magic had a red glow to it, whenever he produced more of his immortal army or launched attacks himself,’

‘Same with mine,’ Yoongi said. ‘My ancestors recorded this war in Chamic scripts. The red glow can be interpreted as power drawing from his blood,’

‘The Philosopher’s Stone is the most powerful substance in the world,’ Jin stated. ‘That’s why history fears to even mention it’s existence. They want it to be left a myth. That’s what the Ministry fears, that these alchemists are trying to create another stone. They don't want alchemy to progress for the fear of another Red War because the Ministry knows they won't be strong enough to stop them,’

‘And… and it makes sense now, if The Dark Lord wanted this stone,’ Yoongi said, fitting together the pieces of the puzzle. ‘He was worried, about that so called prophecy about his death. He must’ve have wanted to secure immortality before he tried to kill that baby,’

‘And now if Bellatrix wants the stone from the Alchemists,’ Jungkook said, ‘She is going to use it to try and bring You Know Who back, isn’t she?’

‘Of course she is,’ Laura said. ‘Even if she’s not successful in bringing a dead wizard back, a stone of this power in the hands of that mad woman? She’s going to stop at nothing! She will bring the apocalypse to this earth,’

‘My ancestor… helped make this stone?’ Taehyung asked Jin and the older nodded. ‘He helped in the process but,’ Jin read the further pages, ‘He went into hiding when he saw what the stone was being used for,'

‘And then what happened?’ Taehyung asked.

The next set of pages illuminated in a red glow, showing an army where the soldiers barely looked alive.

 

_Artist : DJ88_

 

_Artist : Dianao Franco Campos_

 

_Artist : Eric Ryan_

 

‘The Red War,’ Taehyung spoke in a whisper.

Jin gulped before continuing, ‘The leader of the alchemists rose an immortal army with red eyes who seemed to revive themselves as soon as they died. He led his armies into war, invading neighbouring countries, slowly expanding his territory. No one really knew the origins of this ruler. He was being of strange appearance. The few public records that mention the existence of such a wizard, never mention his name but the appearance is mentioned as sinisterly beautiful, to an extent that it was difficult to discern whether he was male or female,’ Jin read further, ‘The world called him The Red King, but among the alchemists, he was known as… Abraxas,’

The image of this ruler rose up from the pages, long silver hair, pale skin and red eyes and the being indeed was beautiful. A raven rested on his shoulders. His features were sharp and smooth, a tall lean frame with a smile.But his eyes… his eyes were cold even though they burned red.

_Artist : Leejun_

‘Abraxas decided to strike the most powerful kingdom near him, The Dracwyns settled in Eastern Europe. The Dracwyns had never felt such a blow to their power. The dragon king, who had defeated every invading army for the past century died in this one battle against Abraxas. This was the first time in history that the Dracwyns had lost. It hit their pride greatly. They were far from giving up their kingdom to the Red King even with their own monarch dead. But who was to lead them now?' Jin looked at Laura, 'Laura I think you can continue from here,’

‘Alright,' Laura exhaled. 'Earlier, the Dracwyn tradition, as with many European customs was that only the male heir succeeds the throne. But the Dracwyn king had no male children. He had three daughters and a dead wife. The king’s younger brother - Mihail fell next in line then. And Mihail had a son, therefore the people supported him as well. And, they were about to regroup their army and fight back when the dead king’s oldest daughter, Crina opposed their decision, stating they needed help and a larger army before they could attack The Red King again. She wanted to fight with them but Mihail did not take her advise and marched into battle with the remaining Dracwyn army.

The battle was a bloody one. Mihail lost his son, the heir apparent. Crina was still forbidden to ride to battle and was kept under house arrest all along, despite numerous protests. Mihail felt threatened by her power and proclaimed that a fifteen year old girl had no place on the battlefield.

_Artist : Zombiesmiles_

‘Meanwhile,’ Jin took on from there, ‘Aquirys had escaped and Abraxas took that as treason. Aquirys sought refuge in the eastern Min kingdom but Abraxas soon found him and struck that hidden land as well. The Mins were not anticipating such a strong attack and lost many of their soldiers. Their saviour was Aquirys who created his own army out of the water they were surrounded by and, together with the Min army, they stopped Abraxas and his allies from taking over.

The North was hit with another blow when Mihail was killed in battle as well. But looks like Crina was expecting that. Like the Min’s had their legendary bow and arrow that disspells all dark energy, the Dracwyns had a weapon too. It was a dragon called the Silver Dragon that breathed purple fire, inextinguishable by any substance. The dragon’s body was hard like a diamond, and no spear or arrow could ever penetrate it. This dragon was so rare that it was almost considered legend. Only their very first Dracwyn ancestor was known to ride it more than a thousand years ago. But Crina dwellved into the dangerous mountainous forests of the dragons and came back riding on the silver dragon, proving that she was indeed the true heir.

_Artist : Zezhou Chen_

 

_Artist : Sandara Dakqgry_

‘Crina appealed to the kingdom that lay between the Dracwyn’s and the Mins - The Kim dynasty. Kim Hojin the king, responded at once, taking an army to Romania. Together, Hojin and Crina rode to war and for the first time in the North, sent Abraxas’ current troop to the grave.

But the war was far from over. Abraxas’ army was indeed immortal. Hojin appealed to the Mins to put all their old differences aside and join together as one force against Abraxas. Aquirys knew that to end the war, killing the soldiers will not help. They had to anyhow capture Abraxas and destroy him as well as the stone. He was dispatching armies everywhere, to stop the four clans from uniting. Some major sacrifices had to be made from the clans, baits had to be laid to track down where Abraxas was hiding.The four armies fought from all four sides, slowly pushing Abraxas' army until they could track down Abraxas and destroy him,’

‘So, how did they do it?’ Jungkook asked, curiosity making him sit at the edge of his seat.

‘The details aren’t given here except that it was Min Yungho who released the final arrow. It pierced Abraxas' soul, and the stone with it,’ Jin turned the pages. 

‘If your ancestors fought together,’ Hoseok asked, ‘Why are the Min-Dracwyns against the Kims?’ he saw Yoongi, Laura and Jin moved a little uncomfortably at his question.

‘The war had… consequences,’ Laura replied, thumb fiddling with the dragon ring on her finger.

‘Kim Hojin… was killed right after Abraxas was,’ Jin spoke carefully while his eyes matched the glare Laura gave him as the words left his lips.

‘He came in the line of battle,’ Laura spoke through her teeth.

‘He was killed by a dragon Laura,’ Jin said and everyone could feel the toxicity rise again.

‘Crina Dracwyn did not kill anyone who fought by her side,’ Laura stated.

‘You do know she was the only one who proposed that the stone should not be destroyed. She was trying to negotiate with the Red King and keep the stone for herself,’ Jin argued back.

‘The weapon was destroyed in the end. She was trying to end the war. To stop more blood from spilling in the name of victory,’

‘We don't know that for sure. A lot of blood was spilt despite her efforts,’

‘Yes, a lot of blood was shed later too, in the war the Kim’s raged against the Dracwyns when they had barely recovered from the Red War. The Kims painted the Dracwyns in a dark light to the entire world,’

‘Your ways were barbaric. Don’t tell me you would not have returned betrayal with blood?’

‘Kim Seokjin are we here to discuss a centuries old animosity?’ Yoongi finally spoke up. ‘Say whatever you want, our truth stands. There's a reason the Mins chose to side with the Dracwyns King Yungho's records state that Crina was with him while he destroyed the stone,’

Jin opened his mouth but Namjoon cut him. ‘We won't know what happened in that war between the Dracwyns and Kims,'

‘If you want to believe about what the Dracwyns did, from Dumbledore's book then you do it. You all trust Dumbledore way too much,’ Yoongi said. 

‘Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in history. Yet he chooses to be a teacher to us all, instead of getting involved in power games,’ Jungkook said.

‘The greatest wizard?’ Yoongi cocked his head. ‘Yet he let the Dark Lord rise to that much power. I hope you all know it was Dumbledore who brought him to Hogwarts. In all those years when The Dark Lord gained power, why didn't Dumbledore put an end to him? If he is that powerful?’

‘He’s not wrong,’ Hoseok said. ‘If Dumbledore could defeat Grindelwald, why had he not faced Voldemort in all those years?’

‘Ok, I will agree with you on that,’ Jungkook said. ‘But it doesn't mean anything that Dumbledore brought You-Know-Who to Hogwarts. How was Dumbledore supposed to know what a 11 year old will grow up to become?’

‘A dark wizard like that…’ Ash said, her eyes looking into something beyond. ‘I find it hard to believe he would've been a perfectly normal child. The world has not seen a dark wizard like him,’

‘And Dumbledore failed to recognise that and put a stop-’ Laura started but was cut off.

‘I trust Dumbledore,’ Taehyung said, cutting through all the chatter. ‘He’s training me, as you all know. And I know he isn't 100% sure that he's doing it the right way but he's patient. And he has faith in me… which is what I need more than the correct methods right now,’

‘How's it going? With him?’ Laura asked.

‘I'm having better control now. I don't have outbursts anymore, and I'm learning how to skillfully use my powers,’ Taehyung said.

‘And… you like learning?’ Laura asked, her eyes trying to see into his soul, imploring if Taehyung feels better than he used to about his powers.

‘Of course,’ the younger smiled, bringing relief to some of the worried faces.  _They can't read me…_ ‘I love what I'm learning,’

‘I'm glad then,’ Laura said. And Yoongi gave Taehyung a reassuring smile.

‘Since this war, alchemic experiments have been under the eye of the Ministry,’ Namjoon said. ‘They keep a close eye on powerful alchemists and any Elkyres on record. Due to this reason, The alchemical guild mostly works in secret and keeps their members secret. The meddling of the Ministry has often been unfair to them, when they disqualify and reject proposals for experiments on the grounds of suspicion. There had been cases of false arrests and sentences from unfair trials, all because the Ministry was too afraid of such catastrophic power to surface again. That is until they were met with the power of You Know Who,’

‘If Aquirys helped create the previous stone,’ Taehyung said. ‘Then this time they need me for it, don’t they? That’s why they’re after me,’

Everyone looked at Taehyung, realising they had all been thinking the same in their own minds but were afraid to fully comprehend it.

‘That seems the most plausible conclusion,’ Namjoon said in a quiet voice.

Taehyung leaned back on his chair, a new kind of horror washing over him. It was obvious Dumbledore knew this. Why was he wasting time, playing clues with him and Namjoon? Or was he just proposing this theory of the Philosopher’s stone? The Death Eaters didn't mention a stone the night they attacked Hogwarts. Nor did Gwen. They only mentioned a need for Taehyung’s powers.

‘My father was a part of the Alchemist’s Guild,’ Taehyung said. ‘That day when I saw him… he had come to take me away from my mom,’

‘Did he say where and why?’ Hoseok asked.

‘No… not exactly. I don't remember much,’

‘He said…’ Laura started, even though she felt quite hesitant. ‘He said you had his powers and that's why he wanted to take you… that's what I remember from your mother’s memory,’ she looked at him, feeling sorry about what she was telling him.

Taehyung gave a silent sigh and leaned back on his chair again. It was all for his powers. All this violence, pain, struggle was for his powers and all he felt was powerless. He was a weak, guilt-ridden, powerless elkyre. And here he was, surrounded by 8 people who were trying to protect him. But did they understand him and his inner conflict with himself? He doubted any one of them could… it wasn't their fault… but Taehyung was tired of feeling weighed down like this. ‘So earlier my father wanted me for my powers. Now the Death Eaters want me. What are we going to do about it?’

‘Gwen tried to expose your truth and get you out of the safety of Hogwarts and Dumbledore,’ Namjoon said. ‘The first thing is that you stay as close to Dumbledore as possible. He will protect you,’

‘I think he should put faith in himself more than in another person,’ Ash said. ‘He is an Elkyre. He will become powerful enough to protect himself,’

‘Depending on myself sounds better,’ Taehyung said. Or  _I keep burdening others…_

‘But there's time in becoming that powerful,’ Jin said. ‘He needs us till then,’

‘Was Abraxas an Elkyre?’ Taehyung asked.

‘It's not mentioned here if he was. But because of the powers of the stone, he seemed to have a fair command over all elements,’

‘If bad people want my powers to do terrible things, then I want to be able to fight them,’ Taehyung said.  _But will I be able to? Can Dumbledore teach me? I feel like there isn't much time._ Taehyung felt the Death Eaters wouldn't give up so easily. They had invaded Hogwarts once, they could do it again. And like last time, what if Dumbledore isn't around? What if Namjoon and Jin don't show up right in time? They are also still students… he may not have the same luck in winning against Bellatrix Lestrange like last time. His friends will get hurt… or worse, all because of Taehyung.

‘You are not alone Tae,’ Jungkook said, looking at him with round, affectionate eyes. ‘We are all with you, we’ll fight together,’

Taehyung tried to smile at his friend.  _That's what I'm worried about…_

‘If anyone gets more information about this, please call a meeting again,’ Namjoon said. ‘Everyone here wanted to know any progress we made regarding this situation and I told you all immediately about this new development. Does anyone else have any other information to add?’ Namjoon looked around the whole table.

Taehyung casted a side glance to Jimin who clearly looked a little uncomfortable. He was clenching his fists, jaw set hard and eyes staring at the table in deep thought. The Slytherins knew it and were hiding it from the rest of the group. Jimin was choosing to do the same. Did he not trust the rest of his friends enough? He looked like he was facing an inner conflict as well, unsure of what to do. But in the end, Park Jimin chose silence. 


	11. A Familiar Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Lovely Readers,
> 
> After this chapter, I’ll be taking a break till comeback season is over. I MAY upload in between on random days but can't promise it. I hope this chapter is wholesome. And I hope y’all still remember House of Cards when it returns! 💜✊*Namjinnies please hold on a bit longer, have strength, I'm so sorry*
> 
> I love you all so much! 💜💜💜
> 
> Also, there's only one music piece in this. It's a really beautiful one but it's lyrical so if you think it's going to distract you from reading then please give it a listen at the very end.

A wind blew on the surface of the open sea, creating small ripples that lapped on the sides of the old ship, it’s dark planks splintered in various spots. The wreckage floated on several hundred feet deep waters, a few small, barren and hilly islands surrounding it at a distance. The grey sky reflected on the calm waters, this place was devoid of any sound or movement apart from the lightest of breezes dancing upon the rigging of the ship, the metal chains creaking lightly.

The silence was cut by the flap of wings as a large grey owl, almost missable in the dense grey sky, flew towards the ship, a piece of parchment held tight in it’s black beak. It perched on the forecastle of the ship, atop the smashed-in head of a mermaid carved in the wood. The cabin door slid open and a woman stepped out into the deck. Her curly black hair was standing in all directions, making her look deranged. She would have been beautiful if the severe signs of exhaustion were not so apparent on her young face. Her cheekbones protrude out of her now hollow cheeks, skin pale as chalk and her heavy lidded black eyes were sunken with dark circles around it. Her clothes looked like they were of fine origins but had become completely worn out.

She was walking towards the bird, a skinny hand held out when someone whispered her name from within the cabin.

‘Bellatrix!’ The male voice hissed. ‘It could be a hoax,’

Her shrill maniacal laugh thundered all around them, echoing back from the far mountains.

‘Have you lost your mind Lestrange!’ Another voice spoke from within, a woman’s voice.

‘You think I don't recognise my own owl Carrow?’ She sneered, holding out her arm for the bird to perch on. She smiled at the peeking faces in the cabin and walked in, closing the door behind her.

‘Tell me Blackbeard,’ she cooed to the bird, her voice thin and maliciously sweet. ‘Do you come bearing good news?’

She took the letter from the owl and opened it, eyes going across each line in a frenzy and widening with horror by the time she finished reading.

‘NO!’ She whipped her wand aimlessly in anger. ‘SHE FAILED! THAT BLOODY OSBURNE FAILED!’

The Carrow brother stepped forward, ‘I told you not to trust a 16 year old-’

But Bellatrix wasn't listening. She was screaming in anger, teeth clenched and bared, hands whipped. ‘THAT USELESS WRETCH! I WILL KILL HER! AND THE DRACWYNS AND THAT BLOODY KIM! I’LL KILL THEM ALL!’

‘Bellatrix-’

‘CONFRIGO!’ Red light shot from her wand, hitting the owl square in the chest. The owl burst into a hundred pieces, feathers, blood and flesh all over the place.

‘If anyone else!’ Bellatrix screamed with the blood spattered on her face, ‘wants to give me their precious advice, they will meet the same fate as this bird. Do you understand!?’

The other death eaters cowered back in fear and hesitation.

‘So what's next?’ Rudolphus asked. Only her husband dared speak in this situation. ‘How do we get the boy? He's still under Dumbledore’s protection,’

‘We have to get closer to Hogwarts then,’ Bellatrix said in a matter of fact way.

Alesta Carrow shook her head ‘Dumbledore knows the truth now. He is expecting us to make a move. It will be impossible to get past-’

‘We will make it possible for the Dark Lord!’ Bellatrix screamed again, eyes glowering at Alesta, body turned towards her like she would punch her right now. ‘Is that all your devotion to him? That you will only tread light waters? You think things will be handed over to you on a platter? You think the Dark Lord will reward such cowardice?’

No one spoke further. Some looked like they had had enough of Bellatrix’s leadership and other’s looked scared. But they all knew not to anger the most powerful and sadistic death eater among them.

Bellatrix walked out of the cabin in rage, going to stand by the base of the rigging. The breeze blew around her, making te curly locks of her hair sway like snakes in water. But she felt something different in the way the wind moved around her. Her eyebrows narrowed in thought as she looked around her and then saw it. It was like a huge invisible force was moving on the water surface and the sharp heavy gust of wind hit their ship, almost pushing the whole vessel over. The rest of the death eaters ran out, trying to find some balance in the way the ship swayed dangerously.

‘What was that!’ Rudulphos exclaimed, his grey eyes wide in shock.

‘A storm,’ Bellatrix said, sneering at the sky above her. The wind rattled the ship again, bursting through all the glass windows. The hull at the back of the ship splintered and they heard water gush in and the ship weighed down to that side.

‘We’re sinking!’ One of them yelled out, scampering to the edge of the deck.

‘Show yourself coward!’ Bellatrix seemed to be shouting to the wind and suddenly she felt the breath being sucked out of her, like a vacuum was attached to her mouth. Her torso cinched, turning concave and that's when they all saw a figure standing atop the ledge of the sail, his body silhouetted by the light from the sky overhead.

‘If you don't abandon your plans, I'll kill you all. You won't win,’ the man said. Everyone had their wands out, shooting curses and hexes at the man. The man sent another strong gush of wind, trying to deflect the curses but one hit him on the leg. He staggered on the ledge and disappeared as more hexes came at him.

Bellatrix’s breath returned as the man disappeared into thin air and she slumped on all fours. Rudolphus came to her side, trying to get her up. Everyone was losing balance on the swaying and sinking ship.

‘Who was that?’ He asked. Bellatrix leaned her back on the sides of the deck, drawing in breaths and smiled like she was remembering some old memories.

‘He was an old friend,’ she said and suddenly laughed like a maniac while the rest were tried to salvage the ship.

*

Yoongi stood in front of the tall mirror in his room, running his fingers through the golden hair on his forehead. He couldn’t decide if he wanted it parted or lying straight.

‘Yoongle, you’re not the only one who requires a mirror!’ Jimin whined from his bed. The boy lay on his stomach, looking at the prefect with a frown.

‘You take 20 minutes everyday to just set your hair so just shut up,’ the blonde smirked.

‘What an exaggeration,’ Jimin rolled his eyes. ‘Fine I’m gonna go use Montague’s mirror. And if you still haven’t decided, Hoseok likes your forehead,’

Yoongi’s hand froze at that and he turned to Jimin, cheeks dusted pink, ‘How do you know that?’

‘I’ve seen the way he gazes at you when you wear your bandana for quidditch,’ Jimin winked and left.

Yoongi smiled to himself and after a few more adjustments to his hair and an olive green bomber jacket (a piece of muggle clothing that Jimin convinced him to wear) he stepped out of his dormitory.

Ash waved at him, and looked behind him to see if Jimin was out yet.

‘You look nice,’ Yoongi said to her, ‘Orange suits you,’

‘We need something bright in this underwater dungeon don’t we?’ Ash smiled, smoothing down her orange cashmere sweater. ‘Will Jimin be long?’

‘Oh yeah,’ Yoongi laughed. ‘Go drag him out if you wish to,’

‘Maybe I will. And you can drag your sister out. I guess she doesn’t want to come to Hogsmeade,’

Yoongi’s lips frowned at that and he looked to one of the corners of the room to find Laura sitting by the window, lost in some doodle on the corner of her potions textbook.

‘Since the talk of the Red War yesterday, she’s been really quiet,’ Ash said. Yoongi nodded at her and went to speak to his cousin.

‘What happened? Did someone steal all of your blueberry candy again?’

Laura shot him a glare at that and then looked away, ‘It’s nothing,’

‘Sixteen years and I thought you knew I can catch you lying with my eyes closed,’

Laura sighed, putting her book down. ‘After recounting the whole story of the Red War… I realised, the reason Crina Dracwyn could claim the throne was because she proved herself worthy. The dragons obeyed her and not just any dragon… The Silver Dragon obeyed her. Dragons aren’t human that their obedience and loyalty can be bought from gold or honour. When a dragon chooses you, it’s because the dragon knows your soul,’

‘And?’ Yoongi wondered why this was making Laura upset.

‘You remember… what happened in the Dragon forest… when we went for the ceremony,’

‘That still bothers you?’ Yoongi asked with some disbelief, ‘I remember that day very well and you bonded with a dragon in the end,’

‘That was not me, that was my mother. She probably felt bad for me… because I didn’t do what a Dracwyn naturally should. Meanwhile…’ her voice dropped low, lips moving with a small pout, ‘the dragons came to you like you were one of them,’

As she spoke, Yoongi saw the quiver of uncertainty in her purple eyes. Both remembered the day vividly, the day they travelled to Romania to visit the castle of their ancestors, the castle that lay in ruins since the Ministry dismissed monarchy.

_The Dracwyn Castle, also known to the common folk of centuries ago as the Tower of the Dragons, is a huge, tall castle located on the mountains of central Romania, where magic thrived from the old ages until the 13th century. The castle is the tallest one in the world, also the hardest to reach or attack due to it’s height unless you rode on dragons. This castle was home to the royal clan of the Dracwyn, who rode with the mightiest dragons into war, capturing most of Europe._

_The Dracwyn castle lies in ruins now, while the family thrived with power and political success in Ireland. Their fall in power came in 1707 when democracy was established in entire Europe by the Ministry of Magic. In 1821, a Dracwyn was appointed as the Minister for Magic but after 7 years of his term, his power was met with turbulence on the arrival of the Kim family in Ireland, who came to seek a political foothold in the new superpower continent in the wizarding world - Europe. They came as part of the newly appointed ‘International Council of Ministers’, a group of important people sent to each major ministry to handle international affairs and overall governance between the wizarding and muggle authorities. The Kims had sent their prince’s 2nd brother to be part of this council in Europe. Kim challenged Dracwyn’s policies and overthrew him in the next 5 years, becoming the new Minister for Magic and re-commencing the bad blood that has existed between the ancestors of two magical bloodlines since the time of the Red War._

_During this time, the disparity between pure blood, half blood, muggle born, rich and poor families also grew. By 1920 the demarcation was made stronger by Gellert Grindelwald who fought for wizard supremacy, therefore placing all magic-folk on a higher pedestal. The Dracwyns and Blacks had been associated with helping Grindelwald rise to power, but there had never been any strong evidence, which many believed had been erased due to their strong political influence. By 1970, the sections within the wizarding community were further divided into loyal blood families and blood traitors, the former being faithful servants to Voldemort (mostly Slytherins due to Voldemort’s first circle of companions being from his own house). Voldemort demanded that each and every pure blood family serve him, or meet their death for being blood traitors. He especially sought to make followers out of the most powerful families - the Blacks, Dracwyns, Malfoys, Crouch, Selwyns, Rosiers and Ollivanders._

_Many turned in favour of Voldemort, the ones who didn’t were either punished till they turned, or killed if their value wasn’t of much worth to the Dark Lord. The Order of the Pheonix tried to protect the ones they could but after encountering spies and betrayals, they were skeptical of helping the families which had a history of older crimes and pure blood supremacy._

_During this time, the head of the Dracwyn family was Charles Dracwyn. He lived with his two daughters Amelia and Averil. The two daughters wanted to escape the war but the death eaters demanded their service. Amelia, being the next heir to the family decided to stay where she belonged and urged her younger sister to escape to another country where she would be safer. Averil then married Yeonjae Min, son of the Min family of the east and long time acquaintance of the Dracwyns since the Red War._

_The Mins were a powerful clan of the east, being healers, harnessing the power of the moon, water and life force. They derived their healing substances from the moon dragons who were known to be the oldest living creatures in the entire world. Their castle is in an undisclosed location, said to be in an enormous lake in the sky. But they had their enemies as well, a common enemy with the Dracwyns - the royal family of Kim that still reigned in Eastern Asia. The Kims made the head of the Ministry in that continent. The Mins were respected, but what they held now was hollow power, with the family consisting of just Yeonjae and his old uncle and aunt who were childless. After Yeonjae’s marriage he had a son - Yoongi, named after Yeonjae’s father. The eastern families frowned upon Yeonjae’s marriage to a foreigner of the far west, seeing it as a plot to perhaps overthrow the Kims and become a ruling family once again. When their son showed promising power and talent at the age of 7 at the Mahoutokoro School of Magic, they felt the threat was indeed real._

Yoongi held his mother’s hand and walked, his wide lilac eyes were looking at everything around him with awe. The hallway was long, white marble floors and black marble pillars and his small steps carried him slowly through it. There were tall, narrow windows on one side, with a cool white light streaming in. It illuminated the specks of old dust in the atmosphere around them. The castle was chilly and Yoongi pulled his emerald green turtleneck over his lips to keep them warm. In front of them, his cousin sister walked between her mother and father and they were all led by their grandfather who walked with the keeper of keys, who, when he asked his mother if he was a house elf, his mother explained that he was a goblin, and that there was a big difference.

‘We may be able to supply the manpower to get some of the chambers fixed,’ his grandfather said. ‘If not the entire castle, at least certain rooms should be hospitable,’

‘It is a noble thought my lord,’ the keeper said. ‘But only if you wish to stay here,’

‘Father,’ Yoongi’s mother Averil called out. ‘Please don’t plan on staying in this ghastly and chilly place. I’m positive some ghosts must have made their residence here over the past centuries and we don’t know what they are like,’

‘We can drive them out,’ Charles spoke. ‘If they don’t originally belong here,’

‘Are you really willing to go through such lengths?’ Yoongi’s aunt Amelia asked.

‘You two stayed here the last time we visited, for your ceremony when you were 8 and 10. I did not hear any complaints, rather you enjoyed scaring the living hell out of your mother,’

‘We were children,’ Averil said. ‘Now when I remember those days, I realize how unsafe this castle is for children. There are traps, weapons, ceilings that are falling through,’

‘Not to mention the number of weird creatures we saw lurking in the dark,’ Amelia said and Averil nodded.

‘That is why I am sending people to get rid of all those things. Every descendant of the Dracwyn line must stay in the house of their ancestors to get a glimpse of what the Dracwyn blood stands for. You have come here after more than a year Averil, so stop complaining,’ Charles said in a definite tone and the younger one of his daughters rolled her purple eyes.

‘We’re here my lord,’ the keeper removed a large set of keys as they approached the tallest door Yoongi had ever seen. It was so large that he couldn’t see the top edge of it and bumped into his sister while walking.

‘Yoongi!’ His sister nudged him. ‘Look and walk,’

Yoongi gave her a pout, cheeks puffing up and stuck out his tongue and she imitated his annoyed expression.

The keeper inserted the key and a few gears shifted, then Yoongi saw his grandfather place his hand on the door and the little boy closed his eyes as the pattern of light grew brighter. He heard the creaking of the iron doors and the heat of sunlight hit his skin. When he heard his cousin exclaim, he slowly opened his eyes.

‘That mountain is so big!’ Laura pointed and the far end where a humongous mountain stood, the top of it was hidden with clouds. They were now out of the castle and onto a narrow, grassy path leading them towards a forest.

‘Are we going to that mountain?’ Laura asked, unable to take her eyes off it.

‘No honey,’ her mother tugged on the maroon woollen cap Laura was wearing. They looked quite alike, he had heard his father say at times. Laura was like her mother and Yoongi was like his mother, both carrying the starkly different features of light and dark hair onto the next generation of siblings. ‘That mountain is too far away for us. And dangerous,’

‘Dangerous? Why?’ His sister asked with her deep purple eyes going big.

‘Little lady,’ the goblin spoke. ‘The forest gets very dense beyond a certain point. No human enters there. The most dangerous creatures roam about there, it's their territory, we dare not cross it,’

‘You mean the Silver Dragon?’ Laura asked with big eyes, asking about the legendary dragon that had fought and died by Queen Crina’s side.

‘I don’t know my lady, no one dares go there, but we do hear the dragons howling at night,’

‘That dragon died in the war,’ Yoongi rolled his eyes. ‘Why are you so scared?’ he teased Laura.

‘I am not scared! I am curious!’ Laura said fiercely.

‘Where is the safe boundary?’ Yoongi’s father Yeonjae asked.

‘A little over a kilometre from here,’ the goblin answered.

‘Has anyone ever ventured in?’

‘Twice,’ the goblin said. ‘And never made out,’

‘What does that mean?’ Laura asked. ‘Did they get lost?’

‘No,’ Yoongi answered her. ‘It means they died,’

Laura caste him a silently shocked look while the elders looked at him alarmed. They didn't know what to say about this ability to grasp hidden meanings and his blunt way of speaking. Yoongi was too smart for his age.

‘Anyway,’ Laura’s father Dylan cut through the tension. He ran a hand through his reddish brown hair, ‘I'm so excited to be here. What dragons will we get to see?’

‘Depends on which ones come to see us,’ Charles said. ‘Reminding you and Yeonjae again, not to utter any details about this to anyone,’

‘Of course father,’ Dylan said. ‘Don't worry about it,’ He tried to give his stern father-in-law a reassuring smile with his blue eyes twinkling but Charles Dracwyn was as usual unimpressed.

‘Mum?’ Yoongi quietly tugged on Averil’s sleeve. ‘What if… they don't come to me? The dragons?’

‘Don't worry honey,’ his mother whispered. ‘I was worried too, but all went well,’ she handed him a five petalled, brilliantly purple flower. ‘Here is your offering to the dragon,’

Yoongi carefully took the flower in his hand. Why would a scary dragon like flowers?

‘This flower contains an extract,’ his mother explained,’which opens up the minds of the human and the dragon, helping them connect. You can smell the extract,’ Averil sniffed it lightly. ‘When you present this flower to the dragon, it's a sign that you want to bond with them, not tame them,’

‘This is the Dracwyn’s most well kept secret child,’ his grandfather said. ‘You have to swear not to speak of it to anyone,’

‘I swear it,’ Yoongi nodded his little head.

‘I swear it too,’ Laura hopped in enthusiastically, holding her flower in her hand. ‘Shall we get started?’

Yoongi watched his sister’s anxiously excited face. She had been going on and on about this trip to their ancestral castle since weeks. Yoongi had caught her day dreaming several times about riding a dragon. This is what she had wanted the most in her life.

As for Yoongi, of course he was excited. You don't see something like this everyday, especially these rare ones of the forest. Those smaller breeds visible to the public were no match for these beasts. Like his grandfather said, they were weaker, lesser and smaller creatures manufactured by wizards for their false sense of pride and bravery. Controlling a dragon was a life threatening and terribly difficult task, and so the lesser wizards took the lesser dragons and enslaved them in sanctuaries. Using them for extremely important tournaments, and as guards outside Gringotts vaults… maybe it was better that the existence of these rarer species was hidden from the world.

‘They may be creatures,’ Charles said. ‘But they are the most intelligent creatures to exist. Don't ever show them that you think we humans are superior. Only a dragon’s pride is higher than its strength,’

‘Are you sure they will not harm us?’ Yoongi asked.

‘These dragons don't harm children. They kill animals for food, and don't fight anything which they feel is not on par with their strength,’

‘The water dragons are very friendly,’ Yoongi said, sniffing his flower. The lake near his father’s castle had an old white dragon which had become a friend of Yoongi’s.

‘Yes,’ Charles walked ahead into the forest with his children behind him. ‘The water dragons are a very calm and wise breed, their mentality is not like the erupting, fiery behaviour of the fire dragons here. But you two have nothing to fear, you both have the dragon’s magic flowing through your blood,’

They stepped into the first patch of grass, and slowly the sun got dimmer and vegetation got thicker. Blue pixies flew around their heads like buzzing bees. They saw bowtruckles hanging from the trees, Averil was sure she spotted a demiguise but when the rest turned to look, there was nothing to be seen. They passed a cocoon of the Swooping Evil and were advised by the goblin not to touch it.

‘The tree dragons usually come to this spot,’ the globin said, coming to a cave. ‘They might be inside or around here,’

‘Ok kids,’ Amelia said, ‘let’s wait here. If you two want to walk around, feel free,’

‘Walk around by themselves?’ Dylan exclaimed. ‘This is a forest!’

‘It’s a safe place for a kilometer, don’t worry,’ Amelia shook her head. ‘The dragons won’t approach a group of humans. Let them walk around a little till we have them in our vision.

Laura’s father looked unsure but gave in. The two children started walking around and so did Charles, moving a little farther to find some peace away from his children who he described as ‘chatty’. Averil was observing the flowers hanging from a tree, with one eye on the kids while Yeonjae seemed invested in trying to call the fairy dragons. Dylan stood with his hands crossed, not looking away from the children for even a moment while Amelia tried to converse with a pixy.

Yoongi didn’t have to walk too far ahead to spot a pair of yellow eyes peeking from behind a bush of big green leaves. A sudden nervousness crept over him. He took a few steps back but then stopped, realizing this is what he had come here for, to make friends with a dragon. He slowly held out a shaking hand with the purple flower. The yellow eyes spotted the flower and twinkled. Slowly the leaves parted and a big, scaly, green head emerged, followed by a long neck and a big body. The Dragon’s nostrils flared once. It leaned closer, sniffing and Yoongi started stepping backwards. Averil came behind Yoongi.

 

_Artist : Sandara_

‘It’s ok honey, she won’t harm you,’ she said to her son. ‘Hold the flower firmly,’

Yoongi tried to keep his arm as firm as possible. The dragon was now squatting in front of him, about 15 feet tall. Yoongi saw the beast’s tail move to the front, curving and it coiled around the stem of the flower. Yoongi let go of his grip and the dragon took the flower, turning her gaze towards the lilac eyes of the boy.

‘You can touch the dragon now,’ Averial said. ‘Stretch out your hand,’

Yoongi did so, waiting for the dragon to move ahead and the beast softly touched its muzzle to Yoongi’s small, pink palm. Yoongi slowly started to move his hand, petting the dragon’s nose. Seeing this interaction, another dragon came forward. This one was the same breed but smaller in size. It came to sniff Yoongi and started to rub its head onto Yoongi’s hand to be petted as well.

‘These are the Welsh Forest Flamers. Maybe you can ride this one,’ Averil said, petting the dragon too.

‘You found dragons?’ They heard Laura’s shocked voice behind them. The four of them looked towards her. Laura seemed shocked, the pout of her lips said it all.

‘Yeah, you wanna pet them?’ Yoongi asked.

‘I…’ Laura wanted to say something but wasn’t getting the right words. ‘I… I should find a dragon too,’ she turned and ran the other way to find her own dragon. Yoongi could sense she was feeling a little jealous. Laura was competitive, thanks to spending too much time with their grandfather. She was time and again told she was the future of the Dracwyn family and she had expected to be the first one to make friends with a dragon. But so far she had no luck.

Averil and Yoongi turned their attention to the two beasts with them. Averil stroked the smaller one’s neck. Yoongi was having fun, petting the dragon’s head, seeing it’s tail move like a pendulum. But soon, they were distracted by the worried voice of Amelia.

‘She’s gone too far!’ They heard her. ‘We need to go look!’

‘We should stick together then,’ the goblin said. ‘Where’s lady Averil and Master Yoongi?’

‘Here,’ Averil took Yoongi’s hand and walked towards the voices. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Laura… I think she went in too deep into the forest, I don’t know she seemed upset,’ Amelia looked extremely worried and so did her husband. ‘It’s been 15 minutes that there’s no trace of her,’

‘She couldn’t have gone too far,’ Averil said. ‘C’mon lets go, Yoongi don’t leave my hand,’

* * *

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Rupert Gregson Williams - Someone Remarkable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omq8s1oJvqE&ab_channel=JusVinciguerra) _

Laura was running through the forest. She left angry and disappointed and her eyes were getting misty. She wiped them harshly with the back of her palm and kept running, trying to find a dragon.

_Why aren’t they coming to me? Why did they only go to Yoongi? Do I not have enough magic in me?_

Soon she realized she was in darkness. Everything was a cool green here, barely any sunlight making its way down from the thicket of trees overhead. Laura blinked, trying to accommodate her eyes to the dim light. She could hear the ricketing sounds of various insects and movements of other creatures. She saw a pair of small golden eyes somewhere in the bushes and saw some forms jumping from one branch to another. Now she was getting scared… she didn’t know how far she had come in, she was scared to cry for help or every creature will know her presence. Had she crossed the safe boundary? She had no idea.

She could hear creatures crooning and howling and haunting tunes echoed throughout the forest. The creatures were becoming more aware of her presence, her scent was travelling farther. She could hear them creeping on the leafy ground, coming closer to her.

She heard a snory breath of some other creatures. She felt like they were too near, making her turn in different directions and then disappearing. She tried to move away and fell on the ground. It was totally dark now. Her tears were swelling up again. Why had she been so stupid? Will she ever go back home? Or will she be like those people the Goblin told them about, the ones who never came back…

‘Laura?’

‘Laura can you hear us?’

‘Lauraaaa,’

She heard her family calling for her and in the distance she could see small points of light, growing bigger as they came closer. She saw her father spot her on the floor and rush towards her. He lifted her up and with the rest of the family she was carried back to the outer area of the forest. Throughout the way her mother kept rambling about how she shouldn’t have run off like that and asking if she was ok. Finally, when they could see some sunlight again, her father put her down, making her sit on a rock.

‘Are you hurt? Let me see,’ he checked her head, elbows and knees. Her right knee was scraped and her mother quickly cleaned it.

‘Sweetie let’s go home,’ her mother said. ‘You must be tired,’

‘But I haven’t seen a dragon yet,’ Laura finally spoke. ‘I need to see a dragon,’

‘We can do that later- ‘

‘No! I must see a dragon! Yoongi saw two of them!’

‘Laura, your safety is more important-‘

‘I can pet a dragon too! I have to!’ She suddenly realized that the flower she was supposed to hand to the dragon was not there with her anymore. It had fallen somewhere in the forest.

‘Let her complete the ceremony if she so badly wants to,’ Charles Dracwyn said. ‘It’s what we came here for,’

‘Where’s the flower? I lost the flower!’ Laura was getting angry and anxious.

‘Gilbert will get you another flower,’ Amelia said seeing her daughter go into a panic. ‘Gilbert?!’

The goblin jumped lightly and then pulled his bag to the front, carefully putting his hand in and retrieving another flower. This one was smaller than the other two.

‘This is the last one my lady. The next harvest isn’t until a few years,’

‘Alright,’ Amelia took it from him and handed it to Laura, ‘Don’t lose this one ok?’

Laura nodded furiously, taking the flower in hand and started looking around.

‘I’m coming with you,’ Amelia said in a definite tone to which there could be no argument so Laura complied. The mother and daughter walked into the forest, looking around for any sign of a dragon. Yoongi and Averil followed behind with their two green dragons. They came to a cliff where Amelia spotted something flying in the distance.

‘Look!’ she pointed to the sky, ‘Can you see that?’

Laura blinked, trying to see the creature clearly. It was a white colored dragon, bigger than the Welsh Forest Flamers. Amelia took Laura’s hand and held it up, so the dragon could get the scent of the flower and the beast turned its head, flying towards the humans. Laura gulped, eyes wide. She had never seen a dragon fly in the sky. Their speed was swift and wings powerful, blowing the wind in their direction even from a distance.

The dragon perched on the ground a little below the edge of the cliff and Laura almost tripped back with the force of the wind. It opened it’s mouth to make a low screech, not a threat, but more like an acknowledgment of their presence. The dragon looked from the flower to the humans and then to the other green dragons behind them. It had spikes running along its neck and tail. Its entire body was of ivory scales and it had golden yellow eyes.

‘This is the Ivory Goldeneye,’ Amelia said. ‘Go on, give it the flower,’

Laura sat on her knees and slowly pushed the flower towards the dragon with the help of her mother’s guiding hand. The dragon huffed, smoke coming out of its nostrils and then slowly took the flower with it’s tail. Laura finally smiled when she saw that.

‘Can I pet it?’ she asked her mother.

Amelia and Averil were trying to see if the dragon was showing any signs of openness but the beast was focused on the flower, observing it, sniffing it, touching the petals with it’s claws.

‘Maybe, slowly take your hands towards it,’ Averil said and so Laura did. She touched the dragon’s head, it felt dry and rough under her palm. The dragon looked at Laura, and gave a low cry. Laura could see her own reflection in its big eyes. The dragon continued to croon and then blinked a few times before turning away from Laura to fly away into the sky again.

‘What happened? Why did it fly away?’ She asked with shock and disappointment.

‘I don’t know,’ Amelia said with furrowed eyebrows as she watched the dragon fly farther away.

‘Did it not like me?’ Laura asked again. This day was not going as per what she had hoped.

‘Maybe it’s just unwell… so it wanted to go home,’ Amelia looked at her daughter and smiled. ‘Don’t look so worried! You petted a dragon! You should be happy!’

‘Yeah… I guess…’ Laura said softly. She looked towards the green dragons who were apparently friendlier because they were still beside Yoongi.

‘C’mon let’s head back to the castle,’ Averil said. ‘Aren’t you all starving? I’m completely famished,’

They all headed back to where Charles, Dylan and Yeonjae waited for them. Yeonjae had managed to finally lure in some fairy dragons, which were the size of hummingbirds and fed on berries and nectar. They only lived in dragon inhabited forests, considering their beastly cousins as their protectors.

‘They’re adorable,’ Averil took one of them in her palm and Yeonjae fed it berries.

‘I see some more dragons on that side,’ Dylan said, pointing towards a stream. A branch ran across a few feet over the stream and two dragons perched on it.

‘It seems to be a time of courtship for them master,’ the Goblin said. ‘Better not to disturb them or they will get angry,’

‘We should head back now,’ Charles said, announcing it’s finally time to leave, ‘C’mon, our dinner awaits,’

All of them reluctantly bid the fairy dragons goodbye (one of them almost bit Dylan’s finger thinking its a berry) and then left for their ancestral castle.

_It was a very eye opening experience for Yoongi and Laura. There was a feeling of power that you could feel in the dragon’s presence. Both still had their hearts running at a slightly higher pace at the thrill of the entire event. Laura looked back once when they all again heard that eerie howling from the deeper section of the forest. She wondered how dangerous where the beasts that lived inside._

The 17 year old Yoongi looked back at Laura, knowing even she was recounting the same memories.

‘That is why you worry don’t you,’ he said. ‘That’s why you try so hard… and you never rest,’

Laura gulped, looking away from him.

‘You don’t have to prove yourself Laura. You  _are_  a Dracwyn, no one’s gonna take that away from you,’

‘I won’t be so sure about that,’ Laura pulled out a letter from her potions book, the one that their grandfather had sent her, stating that if she didn’t behave the way a Dracwyn should, their grandfather will reconsider if she’s fit to carry the name. Yoongi read it, anger rising in him.

‘He’s just… he’s trying to make you listen to him. There’s no way he’ll do this,’

‘There is,’ Laura spoke quietly. ‘Charles Dracwyn can do whatever he wants. And apart from me, there are three others who share his blood. He might find one of you more worthy,’ her eyes looked into his. He knew she was talking about his mother, himself and his little brother.

Yoongi’s hand involuntarily crushed the letter, ‘He will not do that Laura,’ but in his head he knew that may not be the truth. Their grandfather did indeed put the pride of the family first. But Laura needed to live life, for herself, not for their grandfather.

‘You’re my family, and it hurts me when you put so much pressure on yourself,’ he said. ‘Stop thinking about this. Come to Hogsmeade with us,’

‘I don’t want to interrupt your date,’ Laura smiled. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll go catch up on the lessons we missed during the trial,’

‘Ok, but I hope I see you there later,’ Yoongi kissed the top of her head and then left.

It was 3pm in the afternoon. Everyone had permission to go to the Hogsmeade fair, from first year to seventh. Laura was sitting alone in the Charms classroom. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy with sleep. She didn't know how much longer she could stay awake but she had a ton of classwork and assignments to catch up on. If you miss 2 days of 6th year classes, it felt like you had missed a whole week. And she had missed 5 days. She scribbled notes furiously from Jimin’s notes. He was among the few to have luckily been able to attend all classes. As she was unrolling a new roll of parchment, she felt something tickle her ankles. She looked down in surprise and found a pair of big blue eyes looking back at her.

‘Blue! What are you doing here?’ She cooed.

The kitten mewed and tried to climb her leg. Laura bent down and picked up the little feline, keeping him on her lap.

‘Where is your human? I swear he doesn't know how to keep a track on you, does he? You are still so small, you shouldn't be wandering on your own!’

The kitten purred and jumped on to the table, walking all over her notes.

‘Hey! The ink is still wet! You'll stain your little paws!’

The kitten didn't listen and when Laura tried to move the parchment from below him, he put his paws on her cheeks, leaving a blue paw print on her left cheekbone.

‘Both of you love playing with ink don't you,’ she said, rolling her sheet of parchment and putting it away. She scratched the back Blueberry’s ears and the kitten curled on the table, yawning and soon assumed it's sleeping position.

‘Well you are tempting me to take a nap now Blue,’ Laura said, yawning and put her head down next to him. The kitten stretched, snuggling closer to her head and soon both were asleep.

‘Blue!!! Blueberry!’ Jungkook called out to the hallway. He had searched for his mischievous kitten everywhere. This tiny kitten was more than a handful. He loved getting petted by anyone that wasn't Jungkook. From Hagrid to Jimin, Blue charmed everyone.

He slowed down his pace, losing hope about finding his kitten anytime soon.

Maybe that bugger will show up when he's hungry… he frowned and walked ahead, shoulders slouched, giving glances to each classroom he passed. He halted before the charms classroom, an amused smile coming on his face. His black furred cat was sleeping, cuddled to a black haired girl, their heads slowly moving as they breathed. He walked to them quietly and sat on the bench in front of their desk, facing them.

Jungkook’s dark eyes looked at them adoringly. Both looked at peace, unaware of all the trouble the two of them cause him in different ways. He put his head down next to them and stroked his kitten. The smile didn't leave his face as he looked at Laura’s soft face, her long dark lashes, the perfect shape of her lips. He noticed the blue paw mark on Laura’s cheek and remembered the detention where he had done the same. He was tempted to touch it. He gulped, controlling himself and shut his eyes and soon sleep came to him as well.

After a while when Blueberry moved in his sleep, Laura woke up, blinking and trying to remember where she was. She could see the kitten and the Charms classroom. And to her surprise, Jeon Jungkook was fast asleep, his head right in front of her on the table. His hair looked soft and silky, dark against his pale skin and so close to her hands. She stretched out her fingers and lightly stroked the hair on his forehead. She had always wanted to touch his hair whenever he was in close proximity to her.

Coconut… she smiled as she felt his hair between her fingers. It was soft indeed. Like dark satin. Her eyes travelled down to his lashes and pink lips, bunny teeth peeking from it. For a moment she was tempted to touch his lips as well, curious to know if they were as soft as they looked. And she felt something flutter in the pit of her stomach. Her mouth watered and her heart rate picked up. She sat up sharply, alarmed at this alien feeling. His fresh ocean scent still lingered around her, making her crave for something… she couldn’t figure out what. Her movement startled Blueberry who woke up as well. She checked her wrist watch, an ancient device made of dark metal with Roman numerals written in rose gold on the dial. It was 4pm, and she had promised her friends she would be in Hogsmeade…. That  _they_ would be in Hogsmeade at the request of their common friends, primarily Jimin and Taehyung who seemed to have a scheme in their minds when they demanded that Jungkook and Laura  _had to_ join them for dinner.

‘Hey moron!’ She called to him, refraining with all her might to not touch him even though something in her wanted to feel his hair again.

‘Hey! Ravenclaw Prefect! Wake up!’ She shouted again but he just groaned. Willing and unwillingly she stretched her hand to him, prodding his shoulder.

‘Wake up you coconut!’ She pushed at him.

‘Shut up. Let me sleep,’ he murmured, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him. His one arm came over her shoulder, holding her down. His hand felt heavy in his deep slumber state. Laura’s face was pressed on the forearm of his free hand and she was unable to move beneath his weight. She tried calling him but her voice was muffled.

_This idiot!!_

She did the next thing that came to her mind to wake him up. Opening her mouth, she closed her jaw on his wrist, teeth digging deep until Jungkook woke up with a yelp.

‘YAAAAAAH!!!’ He jerked up, sending Blueberry scurrying off the table. ‘WHAT WAS THAT?’ He shook his bitten hand, trying to relieve himself of the pain. He looked at it, pink crescent marks on either side of his forearm.

‘You sleep like you died! Why the hell were you sleeping here anyways?’ Laura yelled back.

‘Why were you sleeping with my cat?’

‘Your cat was sleeping with me! You don't know how to take care of him!’

‘You lured him! Like a piper!’

‘YAH!’ They heard another voice call them loudly from the door. Both snapped their heads to find Hoseok there. ‘Why are you fighting?’ He asked. ‘Why aren’t you in Hogsmeade yet?’

‘She is an animal! Look what she did!’ Jungkook held out his hand to show Hoseok the bite mark.

‘You are a pig! You sleep like a bag of potatoes!’ She screamed.

‘ _You_  are a bag of potatoes!’

‘Stop it!’ Hoseok yelled at them. ‘Enough with the fighting! Why are you fighting with her now when you missed her so much when she was gone?’

The sentence hung in the abrupt silence that followed it. One could hear the crickets creak in the distance.

‘What?!’ Laura asked disbelievingly.

‘SHUT UP YOU MORON!’ Jungkook launched on Hoseok with punches. ‘I NEVER MISSED ANYONE!’

‘YES YOU DID! I SAW IT ON YOUR FACE!’ Hoseok fought back.

‘HOW WOULD YOU SEE ANYTHING WHEN YOU WERE BUSY HONEYMOONING WITH YOONGI!’

‘YAH! WE WEREN’T HONEYMOONING!’

Laura sighed, picking up Blueberry and walking out of the classroom as the two prefects continued yelling and punching each other.  _Why did Hoseok say that? Or did I hear it wrong?_

‘WAIT UP!’ She heard Jungkook call from behind and halted her steps while rolling her eyes.

‘We are coming too,’ the two boys caught up to her and the three headed for Hogsmeade with Blueberry on Laura’s shoulder.

‘Where’s my brother?’ Laura asked Hoseok. ‘Didn’t you guys have a date?’

‘We did,’ Hoseok smiled. ‘But I had some stuff to take care of and told him I’ll meet him in Hogsmeade,’

‘A date? Is that the reason you’re wearing these jeans?’ Jungkook looked at him top to down, ‘I knew you wanted to show off your legs, Yoongi would be so-’

Hoseok punched Jungkook one last time, ‘Shut up before I open my mouth again!’

‘Fine! You guys are no fun! What’s the point if I can’t tease you!’ Jungkook rolled his eyes that landed on his kitten. ‘Maybe I should carry my own pet?’ Jungkook quirked an eyebrow at Laura and tried to take the little creature into his arms.

‘Ow!’ Jungkook hissed, as the kitty made a flying leap out of his arms leaving tiny bright red spots of blood on his arm. Laura exclaimed in surprise, her head following the cat sashay away out of the courtyard.

‘Blue!’ Laura called running after the cat. It was getting darker and such a small animal should not be out on it’s own.

‘Hobi I can’t leave Blueberry alone,’ Jungkook said.

‘Sure sure, Blueberry is the one you can’t leave alone,’ Hoseok smirked at him knowingly and ignored the younger’s glare. He pushed Jungkook towards where Laura had disappeared and went away chuckling.

Laura was crouched next to an old cardboard box, almost falling apart. Jungkook shuffled in next to her, ‘Where is he?’ he whispered.

‘He’s here. I think he’s mad at you.’

‘What! Why?’ he asked eyes wide, scratches on his arm still blooming red.

Laura shrugged, ‘Maybe he finds you annoying too,’ and she looked to her side right in time to see Jungkook glaring with an adorable pout.

Jungkook settled on the ground beside her, he hadn’t had a moment alone like this with Laura very often. With everything that had transpired since the new term started, the air between them had changed. The space was loaded with questions and feelings neither of them were ready to reveal yet. All they had ever done was compete with each other.

Another minute of silence passed and Jungkook decided to break the ice, ‘I know we aren’t friends, but I hardly think we are enemies.’

Laura was startled, but considering how they were now on the same side, building a web of lies to protect their loved ones she agreed, they weren’t enemies. By some twist of fate, the people she cared for were the same that Jungkook cared for too. ‘True, yet I still can’t find you tolerable enough to be my friend.’ She frowned as she said it.

‘So,’ Jungkook paused looking right at her, ‘What am I to you?’ he asked, leaning back on his palm, trying to look nonchalant.

She shifted her head to look him in the eye, seriously considering his question. What were they? What was their stand? Were they friends?

‘I wanted to ask you something,’ she said in a quiet tone.

‘What?’ Jungkook was very intrigued. Never had she spoken to him like this, in this seemingly intimate tone.

‘Why did you help us? Jin told me that it was your idea to test Hoseok’s pills and find Hector Browne. Jimin told me you even spoke to Taehyung, trying to make him speak to me again,’

Jungkook was silent for a few moments and then spoke, ‘Jin told me that your grandfather and lawyer planned to sell out Taehyung to protect you and Yoongi. But you didn't let that happen… thank you for that,’

‘I was doing what my mother would've wanted,’

‘You both have a good heart then. You and your mother,’

Laura didn't realize that such words from Jungkook would make her feel like something was swelling inside her chest. Something warm but alien.

Jungkook lifted his hand towards the sky and pulled back his sleeve.

‘Now get me some ditanny for this,’ he said referring to the bitemark still reddish on his wrist. ‘Why do you always mark my stuff?’

‘What else did I mark?’ Laura asked disbelievingly.

‘My favourite shirt! That has your handprint and now my wrist has this!’

‘You have 20 shirts like that. Get over it!’

‘No. And now I will have to take revenge for this!’

‘Jeon Jungkook if you think your bunny teeth can bite me then dig a grave for yourself. Don't you dare!’

‘We’ll see,’

‘I will kill you!’

Jungkook chuckled seeing how cute she was when she tried to threaten him like that.

‘Stop laughing! I'm serious! I will turn you into a real bunny!’

He sighed teasingly. ‘So many ways to take revenge. I'm having a hard time picking what will scare you more,’

‘Whatever you pick, I will kill you in the end,’

He turned to looked at her pouted face. If only he could roll over and kiss her right now, have her body pressed beneath his as his hands travelled along her sides, feel her hands tug at his hair. He was dazed, but the confusion was ebbing away. Laura was not perfect, she wasn’t the epitome of everything he had thought he wanted, yet it was her. She made him feel breathless when he did absolutely nothing extraneous, she made him want to do things he would never would have imagined, she made him feel things he had never felt before. It was a first, it was a beginning and he couldn’t have known what they were to each other but it was sweet. A small smile came up on his face, he was absolutely struck.

*

‘You’re late,’ Yoongi frowned, seeing Hoseok walk towards him outside The Malt Door. Hoseok didn’t seem to be listening to what Yoongi was saying, the younger’s eyes were going over him in a dazed way, taking in Yoongi’s beautiful form, how his golden hair framed his face perfectly and how his skin glowed.

‘Hi…’ Hoseok managed breathily, his brain only processing how good Yoongi looked today. The sight of him made his heart rate pick up, as if he already wasn’t jumpy since this was their first date. But Yoongi looked so handsome, yet adorable with that pout that Hoseok wished he could make the entire crowd disappear and have this moment only to themselves.

‘Hi?’ The older’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. ‘You are late by an hour and you say hi?’

‘I’m sorry,’ Hoseok looked down, ‘I had to take care of something and it took longer than I expected. I would’ve never kept you waiting Yoon…’

‘Ok stop,’ Yoongi chuckled, a hand going forward to take Hoseok’s. ‘Shall we go in?’ It wasn't possible in the slightest for him to be  angry when a beautiful Hoseok was in front of him. Hoseok looked up with a smile and nodded. The warmth of it hit Yoongi like the rays of the spring sun.

Both walked in, hand in hand and red cheeks. Madam Talbot, the middle aged woman who owned the small tavern smiled at them and gave them a corner seat by the back windows.

‘Did your tolerance get any better since the Shrieking Shack day?’ Yoongi asked, watching Hoseok over the menu card. The boy looked beautiful today, his copper hair complimenting the denim jacket he wore.

‘Not even in the slightest,’ Hoseok giggled. ‘Looks like I remain sober then,’ and the other laughed with him.

*

Taehyung and Bogum left for Hogsmeade with the mixed group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Haley, the Gryffindor who had invited them was indeed leaning closer to Taehyung a little too often and Taehyung was feeling quite happy about himself with the attention. He did meet Alex, his old Slytherin crush for a few moments when they crossed each other twice at Hogsmeade but the conversations barely lasted. The village was all decked up for Halloween, candles and pumpkins floating over the shops, new stalls selling items for Halloween pranks.

He almost ran into the penta-date group of his friends as he was going to walk into the Quidditch equipment store. They looked like quite an amusing group from afar, a mixture of different houses, people of different origins and families, who were hardly aware of each other’s presence or tolerated other until this year…

Taehyung watched Laura holding the last of the cupcake in her hand and Jungkook grabbing her wrist and taking a big bite off it, all the while giving her a mischievous grin before running away from her.

‘Get back here Jeon Jungkook!!!’

He heard Jungkook laugh that evil maniacal cackle while the others looked done with this duo who were always fighting just because they wanted each others attention. Ash Jimin went their way. Now Laura and Kook were gone while NamJin were in their own world, oblivious to everything else. Namjoon seemed to be recounting some fond story to Jin, eyes soft and mellow with dimples on full force. The older was trying to move Namjoon's blonde hair out of his forehead except both suddenly realised how close they were and jumped a little, looking away to continue walking on their path to Gladrags Wizardwear.

Taehyung shook his head in a ‘I knew this would happen’ manner and turned back to his group. It was nearly sunset and they would have to return to the castle soon and were finishing their purchases quickly. He and his friends were at Honeydukes, when he first saw  _the woman._

From outside the window of the sweet shop, he saw the her, dressed in an all black cloak. A few locks of her fiery red hair peeked through her hood. There was something intriguing about her. She seemed to be going about her own business, going through the trinkets the road seller had on display, asking about the prices and negotiating. But Taehyung couldn't take his eyes off her. He felt like he already knew her…. yet he didn't know her name or what she even looked like up close.

‘Tae!’ Haley kept an hand on his forearm, the rose lolly he had bought her was in her other hand. ‘What happened? Aren't you buying anything else?’

‘Can I see you guys in a bit? I’ll find you all soon. Go ahead without me,’ with that he left the shop, walking towards the trinkets stall.

The woman was now tasting pickle samples, nodding her head in agreement at the pickles when she liked one. Taehyung stood next to her, pretending to look through the trinkets. There was something surging in him as he grew closer to her.

‘Alright, I'll buy a bottle,’ the woman said in an accent Taehyung couldn’t really place. She handed the pickler 3 Gallons and the pickler smiled and gave her the jar of sweet nettle and pumpkin pickle. The woman stuffed it into her side bag and walked away from the store, accidentally brushing against Taehyung and making him drop the trinket he was holding.

‘Oh I'm so sorry,’ she said turning around and picking it up. The woman held it out for him to take and the moment Taehyung touched her skin he retracted his fingers instantly with force, like he had touched burning hot iron. He grabbed his fingers, clenched and unclenching is fist to make the pain of the burn recede. He looked at the woman suspiciously and saw her lips pulled up just the slightest.

‘Fire will always burn ice…’ she said.

Taehyung stared at her with wide eyes. She looked to be in her late forties. Her skin was a shade of cinnamon but her eyes burned, burned red and with an unfathomable intensity. She lowered her hood to reveal the brilliant mane of flaming red hair which one would spot from even a mile away. When the light wind blew a few locks, they looked like real tongues of fire.

‘Who…’ Taehyung asked.

‘You look so much like your father,’ She said.

Taehyung knew he looked nothing like his adopted father, not even close. While the young pictures he had seen of his real father in school had made him feel they shared many similar features.

‘You knew my father?’

‘I  _know_ your father Taehyung… would you like to meet him?’

Taehyung was too stunned to respond. His bright blue eyes stared at the woman like she had used the petrifying spell on him.

Meet his father? That means… he was alive?

His father… was alive.

*

By the time Yoongi and Hoseok made it out of the The Malt Door, it was dusk. The world was in shades of lilac and blue in the last rays of the sun. They walked through the village, going into some shops to look at the merchandise. Most of the crowd moving to the south of the village to attend the end of the fair. Hoseok noticed how some eyes looked at Yoongi in awe, some even turning back to give the boy a second glance and Hoseok knew everyone was awestruck just like he had been. After all it was not every day that Yoongi put on his best look, and though Hoseok found Yoongi attractive even when he’s grumpily woken up from a nap in class on a tired afternoon, Hoseok felt immensely special that he dressed up today for him.

He saw another couple a few feet away from them, they had their arms interlocked, walking close to each other.

‘What are you thinking?’ Yoongi asked, seeing that Hoseok hadn’t really been listening to the last bit of their conversation. Instead the boy was looking at someone else behind them.

‘Huh?’ Hoseok looked at Yoongi, ‘Nothing… Do you mind if I…’ he placed his hand on Yoongi’s back, fingers gently resting on the older’s shoulder.

‘No, I don’t mind,’ Yoongi smiled, ‘But, what’s happened?’

‘Nothing at all,’ Hoseok said again, but Yoongi could feel the other pull him closer every now and then when someone looked at Yoongi a bit too long.

‘Will you please tell me?’ Yoongi asked again.

‘It’s… it’s stupid,’ Hoseok chuckled, taking his hand off of the Slytherin but Yoongi caught his hand, intertwining their fingers. They had reached the wide fence of the Shrieking Shack.

‘It’s not stupid,’ Yoongi halted them below a tree and faced Hoseok, ‘Please, I want to know,’

‘You… you look so nice today, people can’t keep their eyes off you,’ Hoseok mumbled, his ears turning deep pink and Yoongi felt a strong urge to just pull Hoseok into him.

‘Did that make you jealous?’ Yoongi teased and Hoseok almost tried to hide his face.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… act possesive… I-’

‘Don’t be sorry… I think it’s really… I like that you get a little jealous. It’s adorable… and it’s hot,’

Hoseok looked up at Yoongi when he said that, only to look away quickly, feeling too shy on hearing something he had wanted to but not expected.

‘You know… I like you a lot,’ Hoseok managed to say while blushing red. ‘Really… a lot. More than I can really express through words,’ he looked up, trying to peer into Yoongi’s eyes, to understand him. Yoongi looked up this time, his lilac gaze instantly locking with Hoseok’s.

The intensity of Yoongi’s gaze shifted at those words, eyes slightly widening in wonder and affection. His eyebrows contorted just the slightest at the revelation that Hoseok had just laid his feelings absolutely bare. Hoseok waited, with bated breath, waited for some kind of reaction from him. But Yoongi just kept looking at him.

‘Well you know one usually expects a response to this,’ Hoseok said with a frown, ‘Hopefully a positive one considering we were just on an amazing date,’

Yoongi chuckled slightly, ducking his head in embarrassment.

‘Fine,’ Hoseok started to move away from him.

‘No no wait!’ Yoongi grabbed his forearms and pulled him closer, ‘I want to say it,’

‘Do you really?’ Hoseok looked at him suspiciously.

‘Yes I do! I- it’s…’ Yoongi felt shy again. Hoseok was looking so beautiful in the evening light, the light accenting his eyes and shapely lips. His scent of pine and earth was making Yoongi’s stomach flutter. ‘I don’t know why but I feel too embarrassed speaking out my feelings,’

‘But Yoongi-‘

‘So can I say it without words?’

‘How would you say it without words?’ Hoseok purses his lips.

Yoongi slowly brought his hand to Hoseok’s face, fingers gently cradling the sharp jawline. He moved his face closer and his eyes fluttered shut just as he kissed Hoseok.

They didn’t separate, instead their lips continued giving one kiss after another until both had their arms wounding around each other. The heat on their mouths was warm, drawing them closer.

Lips pressing softly one last time, Yoongi moved back to look at him again. Hoseok’s eyes were still shut and he slowly opened them on feeling the absence of Yoongi’s lips on his.

‘I like you more than I could’ve imagined too’ Yoongi said, the affection in his gaze almost making his eyes sparkle. His hands wound around Hoseok’s neck and the blonde pulled him in once more. They kissed again, and this time Yoongi wasn’t carefully treading the waters anymore. After the tugs on each other’s lips, Yoongi parted his, licking over Hoseok’s mouth and the younger just wanted to melt under Yoongi’s touch. Hoseok’s fingers slowly moved further back from Yoongi’s face to run through his hair. He was pushing Yoongi back, and a hand cradled his waist as they slumped along the surface of the tree trunk.

Hoseok pulled away just a little to look at Yoongi. They were so close, noses gliding together, nuzzling and Hoseok gave a breathy giggle. He kissed Yoongi’s cheek, planting small pecks till his ear and back, kissing the tip of his nose.

‘You really have the cutest nose,’ he said and Yoongi smiled shyly, a grin spreading over his lips. ‘And the most beautiful smile,’

Yoongi looked at him, just wanting to lie in marvel of him, his each word had so much affection in it. His gaze just held him like it enveloped his soul in a warm hug. ‘When did you…know? That you liked me...’

Hoseok took Yoongi’s hand, kissing his knuckle before entwining their fingers together. ‘I don’t know when,’ he confessed. ‘It feels like it was always there, I just didn’t let it surface. Well, you did make it hard for me to realize it,’

‘Did I now?’ Yoongi cocked his head with an eyebrow raised and Hoseok laughed heartily.

‘Well yeah Mr. Min Yoongi. You were busy trying to prove yourself as this fortress of ice, that you always made me feel like I’m crowding you.

‘I like you crowding me,’ Yoongi confessed, a hand playing with Hoseok’s collar.

‘Are you saying I’m special?’ Hoseok smirked and quirked his eyebrow.

‘I thought you already knew that,’ the older punched him playfully. ‘You’re even more thickheaded than I thought,’ he chuckled while Hoseok gaped at him. Yoongi kissed him again until they had to separate due to people in the vicinity. Their curfew time was approaching but Yoongi did not want this day to end. This had been one of the best days of his life. Once Yoongi had put his nervousness aside, he realised how easy it was to talk to Hoseok. And he saw another side of the Hufflepuff that people usually don’t see. Hoseok was such a good listener, having the most adorable reactions to whatever Yoongi was telling him. Now that it was just the two of them and no prodding eyes or over enthusiastic friends, slipping in and out of topics with Hoseok was effortless. And so he felt a little heavy in the chest at the fact that it was time to go back.

‘Where did they day go,’ Yoongi sighed. ‘I swear we were just standing outside the tavern 5 minutes ago,’

‘There’s something I want you to see,’ Hoseok said, taking Yoongi’s hand. ‘Come with me,’

A confused Yoongi looked at Hoseok’s smiling face but went with him back to the castle without further questions.

_Lyrical Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Bon Iver & St. Vincent - Roslyn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqCg4sIhyFc&ab_channel=CureMusic) _

They were walking through the empty corridors, the air sparking between them. Hoseok was talking him towards the Astronomy tower and they climbed the tall winding staircase till they came to the closed doors of the roof. Hoseok took a set of keys out of his jacket pocket and opened it.

‘Where’d you get the keys from?’ Yoongi asked, stepping into the open space but his questions were silenced when he saw a rug spread out on the floor where usually their telescopes would stand. The remaining chairs had been used to create something like a fortress with a sheet draped over it.

‘This is why I got late,’ Hoseok confessed, taking Yoongi towards their made up tent.

‘How did you manage to…’ Yoongi was completely awestruck. They sat down and Yoongi couldn’t ask for a better setting with the stars above, open sky around him and Hoseok beside him.

‘I had to pull some strings. Emina helped a lot,’ Hoseok pulled out a blanket for them. ‘Do you remember that spot?’ Hoseok pointed to the ledge on their side.

‘I do…’ Yoongi chuckled. ‘It’s where I dropped your Turqet while attempting to flirt with you,’

‘You were trying to flirt with me?’

‘Well, I didn’t say I was good at it!’ Yoongi defended himself.

‘Maybe you were,’ Hoseok moved closer to Yoongi, lips near the older’s ears, ‘That night I was wondering why did you suddenly seem cute to me,’

‘You’re a moron!’ Yoongi punched him lightly but Hoseok caught his fist and pulled him closer.

‘This is perfect Hobi,’ Yoongi said, gazing at the stars above. ‘Its… beautiful,’

‘The crescent moon is your family’s sigil isn’t it?’ Hoseok pointed at the moon in the sky and felt Yoongi nod. ‘It’s a beautiful sigil you know,’

‘Thank you Hobi… for this, for today,’

When Hoseok looked at Yoongi at those words, he found Yoongi’s eyes sparkle with fondness. They immediately kissed again, Hoseok almost falling over Yoongi and the older lost his balance, head bumping on the pillow and a giggle reverberating between them from their stomachs till their lips. As their laughter merged into a few chaste kisses, Yoongi’s hands busied them in Hoseok’s hair, tugging them, holding his head in place because their mouths were starting to move heatedly, the soft sounds filling the silent air. Even though it felt like heaven, Hoseok was just a little nervous, hoping he was kissing Yoongi as amazingly as Yoongi was kissing him, but if the way Yoongi’s hands were grazing through his hair was any indication, then he was doing well. They slowed the pace, languidly feeling their mouths slither, tongues warm and wet, letting the tastes and scents of each settle around them.

Yoongi started to push back on him, until he was pressing Hoseok down. His hands roamed over Hoseok’s torso, squeezing his waist , his thighs and his mouth explored the smooth honey skin below his jaw, sucking lightly, tongue laving with heat. Hoseok felt Yoongi’s strong hands all over his body, palms roaming, gripping and remembered how much he wanted this… to feel this intensely for someone and to have someone hold him like he was the most important thing in the world. A warm current courses through Hoseok’s body wherever Yoongi’s hands touched him. Hoseok’s lips parted, eyes closed and a moan escaped his lips when Yoongi’s tongue moved over a sensitive spot on his neck.

He heard the older hum at his moan and Hoseok had never felt his cheeks go hotter than this.

‘Yoon,’ he breathed. Yoongi’s palm caressed him, going from his stomach to his neck, splaying over his chest to feel the way it rose and fell in his heavy breaths.

‘Hmm?’ Yoongi brought his face up, aligning their noses. Hoseok held him, rolling them over so they lay on each other’s sides. He adjusted their bodies so that he had Yoongi’s head resting on his arm. He brought their lips together again, giving soft kisses to Yoongi and let his hands roam under the older’s jacket, moving over his shirt, pressing him closer.

‘I’m glad I chose this place,’ Hoseok’s voice had dropped low. ‘Now that I know this is where you tried to flirt with me… and ended up giving me a turqet to keep forever,’

Holding Yoongi felt better than anything that Hoseok had experienced yet. It almost felt like this was always what he wanted to feel like with someone. It felt natural, without any facade between them and he couldn’t believe that out of everyone in the school, he felt this with Min Yoongi.

They lay there for hours, kissing, stargazing, conversing. Both didn’t want the night to end and somehow, sneaking and giggling their way, Hoseok was in the Slytherin common room, cuddled with Yoongi under the heavy green blankets, feeling the warmest in the cold dungeons. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *runs screaming*


	12. Lover, Hunter, Friend & Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I was in the mood for updating today. This chapter is a bit on the drabble side, but maybe we need this break after all the plot and backstories. This is mostly the characters being teen students and some school drama.
> 
> Did y'all figure where I took the chapter title from? Any Fleurie fans here?
> 
> Music is mostly lyrical for this chapter. I think Pied Piper, Just One Day, I Like It, Fluerie - Siren, Goldfrapp - Thea, give good vibes for this chapter.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Carter Burwell - The Lion Fell In Love With The Lamb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd2NiAjGZMg&ab_channel=silvascreentracks) _

Namjoon was trying out a deep blue high collar woollen robe at Gladrags Wizardwear. He stood in front of the tall mirror, adjusting the shoulders, humming a made up tune. The robe fit him well and he was considering buying it.

‘Wow,’ Jin said from behind, eyes going up and down Namjoon’s tall form. ‘The models should pack their bags and leave,’

Namjoon chuckled, his dimples showing as he bent his head low shyly, ‘Stop pulling my leg Jin!’

‘I'm not!’ Jin said defensively. ‘It's looking really good on you. You look soooo tall. Hold on,’ and Jin disappeared for a moment, coming back with a red and blue plaid scarf in hand.

‘Here,’ he handed it to him. ‘This will complete it,’

Namjoon took the scarf and draped it around his neck roughly.

‘Not like that,’ Jin said with a chuckle, shaking his head and coming over to properly drape it around Namjoon. The younger watched Jin’s beautifully sculpted face as he stood close, eyes concentrated at tying the scarf around him, tucking it into the jacket collar. Namjoon’s eyes lingered on Jin’s lips pouted in concentration and he realized Jin could have indeed been sculpted by angels, the way he had overheard some girls say. He hadn't seen such lush and beautiful lips on anyone else and he would never get tired of appreciating it.

Jin’s hands slid from Namjoon’s shoulders to rest on his chest.

‘Your heart is beating really fast,’ Jin said startling Namjoon. ‘Are you ok?’

‘Yes of course!’ Namjoon jumped. ‘Let’s find something for you too!’ And he disappeared into the robes section before Jin could see the flush of his cheeks. He rummaged through the clothes hanging on the rod, hoping to find something for Jin and he found it- a pale pink woollen jacket.

‘Here try this. Will look amazing,’ Namjoon said hurriedly, almost pushing Jin into the changing room and shutting the door between them. Once there was a partition between them, Namjoon sighed, palms and forehead resting on the door.

‘Joonie?’ He heard Jin’s voice, soft from the other side. ‘You know pink is my favourite color?’

‘Yeah,’ Namjoon said. ‘I remember… That's why I picked that for you. Pink suits you,’

There was silence again, filled with unspoken words within both of them. Namjoon did not know whether he wanted that wooden door between them or not. He was conflicted, wanting to feel Jin’s warm hands on his chest once again but too afraid to show his best friend how he really felt.

‘Ok I'll try this,’ Jin finally broke the silence as if he could sense Namjoon’s tensed mind. Jin was happy, even if whatever was between them had no real name apart from true friendship. It was better this way, he was content being able to stand close to Namjoon and occasionally let his hands roam about the other’s arms and shoulders, revelling in the way it made Namjoon’s dimples appear. If they did anything more than this, then they would have to talk about it, give a name to it, discuss what it meant to their future and for now, Jin didn’t want all that heavy talk. He liked what they had right now.

Namjoon waited in front of the door, his arms crossed on his chest. The image of Jin’s face had not left his mind. He smiled to himself when suddenly he heard a thud, like someone had fallen.

‘Jinnie?’ He called out but there was no response. He rushed to the door. ‘Jin!’

He heard heavy breathing and didn't waste a moment to open the door and rush towards Jin who was on his knees on the floor, the jacket half-draped around him.

‘Jin!’ Namjoon held his shoulder. ‘What happened? Look at me,’

But Jin wasn't listening. His eyes were shut right and he was whimpering. Namjoon held him and rolled him over towards himself as he sat on the floor, back leaning on the wall. He took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat on Jin’s forehead. He won't be able to make Jin hear him right now. Jin was in a vision and all Namjoon could do was hold him till it passed.

‘Frozen…’ he heard Jin cry. ‘All frozen. He’s gone...’

‘Jin…’ Namjoon cried against hope. ‘Come back…’

He couldn't help the tear that rolled down his cheek, watching Jin lose his senses to a higher power. It was a blessing or a curse, Namjoon couldn't understand. All he knew was Jin was in intense pain whenever he had these visions, a pain he couldn't share with anyone.

‘Please…’ he heard himself beg in a whisper, a tear leaving his cheek to fall on Jin’s. Instantly, he felt Jin’s body relax, breaths settling slowly and the older opened his eyes. Jin breathed out, blinking and hoisted himself up on shaking hands. Namjoon quickly wiped his wet cheeks, not wanting his best friend to witness his own pain.

‘Are you ok?’ He asked Jin.

‘Fire,’ Jin said, his head tilting to the west of Hogsmeade. ‘There’s fire here,’

‘Is someplace on fire? Should I alert-’

‘It’s not a place,’ Jin shook his head. ‘I don’t know how to explain it but there’s fire among us, walking among us,’ he took the pink robe off himself and folded it in his lap. His hand went up to his cheek, where the tear had left a wet streak and looked at Namjoon.

‘Don't worry about me so much,’ Jin smiled at him, knowing where the tear had come from. Namjoon didn't know what to say. He blinked and looked away, feeling apprehensive. Jin extended his hand to gently wipe the tear stains left under Namjoon’s eyes. And all of a sudden, Namjoon felt something warm and heavy press over his chest as Jin wound his arms around him, his cheek nestled into the curve of Namjoon’s neck. Namjoon finally turned his gaze back towards Jin, a little nervously. He was sure Jin could feel his heart thudding against his rib cage and hoped he didn't question him about it again. Jin held him for a few silent moments, his steady, calm breaths moving against Namjoon’s erratic ones.

‘If you worry about me so much,’ Jin’s muffled voice vibrated through Namjoon, ‘then I'll end up crying too,’ he said, giving a small chuckle to lighten Namjoon’s mood. Namjoon smiled lightly, Jin’s strawberry scented hair filling him with a familiar bliss. Jin pulled away from Namjoon to look at him. He could see the younger was slightly shy and dazed, his eyes wide and cheeks pink. ‘Can we head to the west side? There’s something pulling me there’ Jin said and Namjoon nodded.

Taehyung and the woman were seated in a corner of the exterior seats of Puddifoot’s Tea Shop watching the sun set. The woman had ordered a Hibiscus tea for both of them but neither had touched it yet.

‘Did you think your father was dead?’ The woman asked him. Taehyung looked at her in silence.

‘Do you think it is that easy to kill an Elkyre?’ She asked with a smile.

‘Everyone believes he's dead,’ Taehyung said.

‘Because that is what he wants everyone to believe. Taehyung, your attack made him unconscious. You are strong, I'll give you that. You were 6 weren't you? I wouldn't have expected such a young Elkyre to cause such damage to a full grown one. The damage was permanent, Martaeus lost a piece of his strength recovering from it,’

‘Where is he? How could he lie like this to everyone? To my mother-’

‘Your mother was happier when she thought he's dead. Why would he want to confide in someone like that? Taehyung… you are young. The way some relationships turn amongst adults is not something you will understand right now. He needed to trust the people he confided his secrets in. He needed to keep himself safe,’

‘Safe from?’

‘The Ministry of course. They were monitoring him,’

‘And he confided all this in you? Who are you exactly?’

‘I'm surprised. My dear friend Albus did not mention me?’

That's when Taehyung remembered Dumbledore mentioning that he knew another Elkyre, a woman who controlled fire.

‘He did… once,’

The woman chuckled, ‘I thought he was more fond of me than that. But then it has been two decades since I saw him last,’

‘So… you control fire?’

‘Yes,’ she smiled. She looked at one of her locks of red hair, swaying in the wind and it became a tongue of fire, swirling around Taehyung like a ribbon. Taehyung froze, scared of any movement that would result in a burn.

‘I can shield someone from fire too,’ she said. ‘Go ahead. Touch it, you won't burn I promise,’

Taehyung gulped, eyes nervously darting from her to the ribbons of flame around his face. He touched one with the tip of a shaking finger and it sparked, glitters of yellow diffusing into the air, but it did not burn him at all. With more confidence, he ran his finger along the length of the flame and nothing happened. Taehyung smiled to himself and looked at the woman.

‘How did you do that?’

‘We are masters of the element Taehyung. We decide what they do, how they move. I could protect someone from Wildfire…,’ her expression changed, ‘or reduce this village to ash and smoke. It's all up to me,’

Jimin and Ash were in the Three Broomsticks, sitting in the special nook Madam Rosemerta usually reserves for couples. They had a cozy corner, where not too many eyes fell. The pub was all decked for Halloween, with pumpkins floating and little paper bats flying overhead. Both had called for the season’s special spiced maple margaritas and were sipping them from straws as they sat close.

‘Finally, our first date,’ Jimin said, his cheeks showing his beautiful natural blush.

‘Things had to turn so crazy since we got together,’ Ash said, a slight shiver from the cold running down her body. Jimin adjusted her scarf around her neck, ‘Don't catch a cold now,’ he said. ‘I don't want you anywhere near the infirmary,’

Ash gazed at him adoringly. ‘I won't catch a cold. You are like a heater,’ she chuckled, scooting a little more closer to him. ‘Your fringes have formed a heart!’ she exclaimed, tracing Jimin’s charcoal locks of hair, falling like a heart on his forehead.

‘Has it?’ Jimin’s eyes looked up but he realized there was no point in doing that. He needed a mirror if he had to see that. ‘Ash, can I ask you something?’

Ash looked at him while sipping her drink and nodded, ‘Ask me anything,’

‘That night… when we fought,’ Jimin adjusted in his seat the slightest, ‘You said you have trouble trusting people,’ he glanced at Ash who nodded, ‘Is there any reason you can’t trust easily?’

Ash took another sip before answering, ‘There was a time, when I gave everyone the benefit of doubt, when I would always assume the best in people,’ she paused.

‘And then?’

‘I don’t know how to say it without sounding… without sounding like I’m flattering myself,’

‘Ash…’ Jimin took her hand, ‘You know I won’t see it that way. You can be frank with me,’

‘Ok,’ Ash exhaled and nodded, ‘I tried to be friends with everyone, even other houses. By third year or so, I think when I joined the Quidditch team, I started noticing a change in people around me. Vanessa says… it’s because people were… jealous,’

‘Jealous of you?’

‘That’s Vanessa’s conclusion. I was doing well in all subjects, I was doing well in quidditch,’ she spoke, each word making her feel more and more awkward, ‘And then when the rumour of Namjoon liking me broke out… it got worse. I saw people who I genuinely liked speak some unkind stuff about me behind my back. A few things I had spoken in confidence, people were talking about it openly and that made me close myself off. You know that popular saying amongst us?’ she looked at Jimin, ‘ _Laugh with everyone. Trust no one._  That’s exactly what I was doing by the end of it. And… it became a habit then, to keep things concerning me, to myself. But,’ her tone changed to something positive, ‘That’s not how I should be. And, I want to change it. Especially when I have someone like you,’ she smiled at him.

Jimin knew where she was coming from. Maybe he had more in similar to Ash than he first thought. On some days, he would still wonder how Ash was now with him he had always seen her from a distance before, thinking they probably never faced the same situation of social problems. After this revelation, he felt a step closer to her. She was also someone who had only wanted friendship but rewarded with back-biting words, just like him.

‘You have people you can trust now,’ Jimin said. ‘The Min-Dracwyns are rude to the world but I've never seen a pair more fiercely loyal, and so are our other friends... Jungkook, Hobi, Jin and Namjoon. You know… I never ever would’ve thought Yoongi would be my friend?’ Jimin chuckled. ‘I mean… he still is kind of a savage. I used to think he had an intense dislike for me,’

‘And now he’s a complete cinnamon roll for you. Oh gosh it’s like beneath all that savageness was a pupper. You guys are nearly inseparable,’ she said.

‘Like you and Laura are now?’ Jimin chuckled. ‘You never liked her much before did you? And now look at you two,’

Ash shrugged smiling. ‘Maybe we just needed to start talking,’ she said. They were starting to move closer, Jimin’s hand gripping hers tighter but Ash’s eyes caught something else from the window behind Jimin. Her smile faltered slightly, eyebrows furrowing in thought. Jimin turned around, curious to know what Ash was looking at and saw Taehyung talking to an unknown woman. She had flaming red, curly hair… there was something peculiar about her, like she stood out in the crowd.

‘Do you know her?’ Jimin asked Ash.

‘Nope… never seen her before. She and Tae seem to be having an intense conversation. Who could she be?’

‘Am I being paranoid? Something about this is worrying me,’ Jimin said. ‘Let’s go there, see who she is,’ Jimin almost stood up from his chair.

‘No,’ Ash held his wrist. ‘We… we shouldn’t crowd Taehyung like that. Maybe she’s someone Tae knows. It won’t be right if we hold every person with suspicion,’

Jimin looked at Ash for a moment and nodded even though he didn't want to. His eyes then fixed themselves on Taehyung and the woman.

‘The name I’ve given myself is Serafin,’ the woman said.

‘Given yourself?’ Taehyung seemed confused.

‘The name I was born with did not suit my nature. We should be called something that related to what we become shouldn’t we?’ she smiled

‘Why would the Ministry monitor my father?’ Tae asked the woman. ‘What has the Alchemist’s Guild been upto?’

Serafin studied him for a moment, watching his intent, curious blue eyes and smiled again.  _He’s so much like Martaeus, more than Martaeus knows himself._

‘This started when You Know Who was at the height of his power. How can someone like him think of becoming the most powerful of all? He has no understanding of how the universe works, of how energy flows and how to maintain that equilibrium,’ she said. ‘He was looking for more ways to become stronger and immortal. He approached the Alchemist’s Guild, to tell them to make a weapon for him- Abraxas’ weapon,’

‘He.. he wanted a Philosopher’s stone?’ Taehyung’s eyes were wide.

‘Yes. But the Guild refused. We dismissed it saying it was a myth. But the Ministry thinks we agreed to the Dark Lord’s demands and were in the process of making a stone. All of us alchemists, especially the most powerful ones- the Elkyres, came under surveillance. We were captured, questioned, tortured. That's when we realized, it was time to put both the Dark Lord and the Ministry’s reign to an end. The Dark Lord cannot rule us, neither can the extremely incompetent Ministry which lives in denial of the truth. If they got a go ahead, they would wipe us all alchemists just because they are paranoid about the philosopher’s stone resurfacing,’

‘You are talking about…’ Taehyung whispered urgently, ‘overthrowing the Ministry!’ unable to process what he just heard.

‘We don't want a ministry which sidelines us and treats us with such unfairness,’

‘And who should rule instead? Are you planning to takeover? Are you the Head of the Guild?’

Serafin smiled at Taehyung but in that moment she saw something behind him.

‘No, I'm not the head. But it's time for me to leave,’

‘Leave where? You have to answer my questions! Where's my father?’

‘If you want to meet your father, you will. But not now… you need to win our trust if you want to know more about us Taehyung. We want you to join us, you are one of us. But we value loyalty as well,’ she stood up to leave.

‘Don't go! Please!’

‘I have too. Hopefully I'll see you again soon. Take care Taehyung,’ and walked ahead when someone cut her way. Taehyung saw Jin standing in front of her, a few feet away and observed how the woman’s eyes held him with curiosity.

‘Hello there,’ she smiled at Jin but didn’t engage in conversation. Serafin was looking at Jin with sparkling eyes, like something was going on in her head but she left them all quickly with a smile. Jin knew there was something off about her from the moment he had laid eyes on her. He turned back, watching her disappear into the crowd until the croak of a raven on the lamp post above them brought his attention back to Taehyung.

‘Is she a friend?’ Jin asked, looking away from the black bird.

‘We just met,’ Tae answered, but he seemed like he didn’t want to talk about this to anyone.

‘Taehyung!’ He heard Jimin call him from the side and saw him and Ash walk towards him with hurried steps.

‘What is it?’ He asked turning to them.

‘Who was that? That woman. In red and black,’ Jimin asked again, his tone concerned but assertive.

‘Why are you guys interrogating me like this?’ Taehyung looked at them, feeling slightly annoyed.

‘Coz we are worried about you! She didn't seem like a regular witch. There was something about her,’ Ash said. ‘The Death Eaters are still after you, if you remember,’

‘She was not a Death Eater. A criminal won't roam around the streets of Hogsmeade,’

‘How can we know for sure if she wasn't a Death Eater?’ Jimin said to which Tae gave him a vexed glare.

‘Tae…’ Ash held his arm. ‘We have to protect each other. We are only looking out for you. We are asking you so that if anything, we all can be careful,’

‘She… she is another Elkyre,’ Taehyung finally said it and his four friend’s eyes widened like saucers. He might as well could've said she was a death eater.

‘They've found you? Again?’ Instant worry showing on Namjoon’s face. ‘What do they want from you?’

‘I don't know…’ Taehyung said. ‘She… she didn't say much except that… they might not really be the bad guys,’

‘What do you mean? I know you haven't forgotten what happened in the past with your parents and you,’ Jimin said. There was hint of agitation in him seeing how Taehyung was being indirect in his answers.

‘I remember very well,’ Taehyung gave a cold stare towards Jimin. ‘If you guys have already decided that Elkyres are bad people then why are we having this conversation?’

‘Tae we never said that,’ Namjoon tried to pacify the moody fourth year but he still seemed ticked off.

‘Ok, what did you guys talk about?’ Namjoon asked trying to make the situation unbiased.

‘We… spoke about my father…’ Taehyung’s voice dropped low. ‘He’s… alive,’

When Tae’s eyes looked at four again, he thought someone had frozen them. Jimin’s hand was halted on Tae’s forearm and they were too shocked to move, eyes wider than ever before and mouths hanging open.

‘Wha- no… but your mom…’ Jimin was trying to construct a sentence out of his scattered thoughts. ‘It can't be… how can.. That woman is lying,’

‘Maybe,’ Taehyung said. ‘Maybe she isn't. I have to know,’

‘And how will you know?’ Jin asked wondering what this boy had planned to do in his head, hoping it wasn't too reckless and that they could talk him out of it.

‘She said she will tell me more once she knows she can trust me,’

‘That is the shadiest thing I've heard Taehyung!’ Ash said. ‘You can't possibly think she's going to give you what you want! She's gonna use you for whatever game these people are playing and that's it,’

‘She's Dumbledore’s friend. So maybe she won't do that?’ Taehyung said with raised eyebrows. ‘Listen. You guys are not the ones who have to deal with… with being what I am. You guys don't have the Death Eaters trying to capture you and living in the danger of the Ministry finding out about you and throwing you in Azkaban for murder!’ Taehyung’s voice raised now and the four around cautiously, hoping no one heard him.

‘You are right,’ Namjoon said. ‘We are not going through what you are. But that does not mean we don't want to help you or keep you safe. If you want to get your answers from this woman… then do what you have to but at least let us all know about it,’

‘If I have to know more about the Guild then I need to win her trust, why don’t you understand that?’ Taehyung’s irritation was spilling now. ‘You guys don’t trust me… you don’t think I’m capable of making the right decision… ever! All the decisions of my life are made for me by someone else but guess what? I’m not a 6 year old anymore! I have the right to have a say in the decisions of my life,’

Ash held Jimin’s wrist when she felt him move closer to Taehyung. Tae needed space right now, to think, to reflect on all that he was doing and talking to him right now would only anger him further. The Hufflepuff boy turned away from them and stormed away but Jin followed.

‘Tae! Taehyung!’ he called out, ‘Wait just a moment I want to tell you something!’

Taehyung scowled and halted, turning around to Jin.

‘You heard the truth about your father… Does it make you feel better? That he’s alive?’ Jin asked.

Taehyung looked away. ‘It doesn’t make me feel anything,’

‘Are you sure?’

Taehyung nodded. ‘He tried to take me away from my mother by force. And if that woman is right, then he lied about being dead for nearly a decade. What am I supposed to feel about someone like him? I barely remember him… except that… maybe my guilt will lessen if… if he’s indeed alive,’

‘I tried seeing what had happened that day at your old house when your father had come,’ Jin said. ‘I couldn’t see much but… don’t hold so much hate for your father,’

Taehyung looked at him. ‘Why? How… how can you say that?’

‘The relationship between your mother and your father is a complicated one. Both did things which they later regretted. Your mom… she left your father because of his associations to the Alchemist’s Guild. Your father did not know he had a son. And when he found out, he took the wrong approach because he was overcome with many emotions. You may not understand what they did and why they did it. But… I’m just asking you to keep an open mind,’

‘Everyone thinks the Alchemist’s Guild is dangerous… you don’t think the same?’

‘I can’t make a judgement if I don’t know anything about them… I know what the woman told you Tae. I just hope… you wont make the same mistakes the people around you made,’

‘It’s not that I want to hide anything from you all. But…’

‘I want the woman to gain your trust Tae… its risky, but I don’t see how else to go about it. They will try and take you… they need you for something and we need to know what,’

It was one of those extremely rare moments when Taehyung glimpsed the other side of Jin, the side raised by his father, where you needed to calculate your moves, read between the lines of all that everyone was saying to you. Taehyung nodded at him. ‘I’ll be careful, don’t worry,’

*

‘I guess we should just… head back now,’ Jimin said to Ash. Their date had been interrupted and now he was not in a mood to go back. The first few days following his first kiss with Ash, he hadn’t expected their relationship to be going through this roller coaster of ups and downs. Everytime they tried to make things normal, something would roll in and disrupt their peace. His eyes watched Jungkook and Laura a few feet away, arguing about something as usual but they seemed to be having a better time than most. He glanced to his side and Ash was probably feeling the same as him. She gave him a smile and linked their arms together.

‘Yeah let’s go back. It’s nearly time to head back as it is. Maybe next weekend we’ll complete our date,’

Jimin nodded, squeezing her hand once and then they started to walk behind Laura and Jungkook who had now resorted to a physical argument with Laura punching Jungkook and the boy trying to hold something away from her grasp.

‘I don’t know if I should let this play out or tell Jungkook to his face that he likes her,’ Jimin whispered to Ash who laughed. Slowly the two groups merged and ended up with the girls walking in front because ‘Laura could not stand the annoying cackling of the Ravenclaw anymore’.

‘How was your date?’ Jungkook asked him with a smirk.

‘Not as good as yours I’m afraid,’ Jimin smirked back.

Jungkook looked stunned, opening and closing his mouth several times, trying to get a smart comeback.

‘Wha- I… I wasn’t on any date!’

‘Sure,’

‘I- You- Why wasn’t your date good?’ Jungkook deviated the topic. ‘What’s wrong?’

Jimin shrugged, ‘Nothing is  _wrong_ as such. We’ll all been so stressed and busy. I didn’t expect the start of my relationship with Ash to be in the middle of a storm. We started out well and now we’re just trying to find ourselves back again I feel,’

‘Oh,’ Jungkook said. ‘Well… A storm can be cozy you know, if you have each other’s company,’

The entered the cold castle, the Slytherins were heading to their common room but Jungkook seemed to want to accompany them a while longer. He watched how Jimin kept glancing at Ash walking in front of them with Laura.

‘Mr. Jimin, I’m kind of chilly, can I borrow your jacket?’ The Ravenclaw started to tug on Jimin’s Slytherin jacket and Jimin gave it him swiftly.

‘Yeah zip it up nicely,’ Jimin helped him put it on. ‘You just recovered from a cold didn’t you-’

‘Mr. Jimin, don’t you think this shirt looks better when tucked in?’ Jungkook started to pull at his shirt as well, trying to push the ends into Jimin’s pants.

‘Why are you suddenly trying to make this outfit look good? I’m about to head to bed you know,’ Jimin tried to push him away but Jungkook was persistent and Jimin hardly ever resisted the boy.

‘That’s ok, you gotta show what’s good any time of the day,’ Jungkook patted Jimin’s butt with a snigger and the Slytherin eyed him suspiciously.

They reached the corridor to the common room.

‘Oh wait, I still have his package,’ Laura said, taking a brown envelope from her robes.

‘Why are you carrying Jungkook’s mail?’ Ash eyed her suspiciously.

‘This was my hostage, but he won in the end,’ Laura rolled her eyes, waving the book sized package in her hand and turned back, ‘Hey moron! Don’t forget your mail!’

‘You still have that!’ Jungkook made a grab for it while Ash and Jimin headed in. Jungkook waved Ash goodbye with a smile while snatching the packet from Laura.

‘He seems happy,’ Ash chuckled.

Jungkook opened the parcel to see the contents as the other couple disappeared. ‘Oh! It’s from home! They’re travelling without me I see,’

Laura sneaked in from the side, wondering what Jungkook was muttering about.

‘Why are they going on vacations without me!’ Jungkook was whining, seeing the photographs.

‘That’s your family?’ Laura saw the two parents and one son who looked older than Jungkook.

‘Yeah, that’s my mum, and dad and my older brother,’ Jungkook smiled, seeing her wide eyes on the photo in his hand.

‘What is this place?’ Laura was now seeing the photographs with him, standing close to him and Jungkook seemed to have forgotten all his complaints about the lack of vacations.

‘Its where my dad is from. It’s a city called Busan in South Korea,’

‘South Korea,’ Laura blinked. ‘That’s far,’

‘It is,’ Jungkook nodded, ‘Have you been?’

Laura slowly shook her head. ‘I haven’t been that far,’ she said softly. Her grandfather shielded them from the outside world, especially the muggle world. And these photographs, even though they were not moving, the people looked like they were having a fun time, eating something on skewers, walking through a bamboo forest, riding bicycles.

‘Your family… is half muggle?’ she looked at him and Jungkook nodded.

‘My dad and older brother are muggles,’

‘What’s it like?’ Laura asked.

Jungkook shrugged, ‘I don’t know how to answer that. It’s… it’s how life has always been for me. I know of both worlds, I pick what I like from both,’

‘That… must be nice I suppose,’

Jungkook looked at her for a few moments, observing her solemn expression, ‘You suddenly seem curious… about muggles,’

Laura chuckled, ‘The truth is… that we all are curious about muggles. We all want to know how you all make things work,’

‘You must have been… been to regular London. You can see it for yourself,’

Laura shook her head, ‘I haven’t really. Pure bloods don’t really interact with muggles unless your profession requires you to,’ she sighed. ‘I’ve never met a muggle,’

Jungkook blinked in disbelief. All of his relatives were muggles. And Laura, of the great Dracwyn family, had never met one.

‘We can-’ Jungkook started to say but stopped, ‘Nevermind,’

‘What is it?’ Laura asked, looking straight at him but Jungkook shook his head. ‘Tell me. Not like you don’t speak your mind with me otherwise,’

‘I was just… I know a lot of muggle places, in UK and in my father’s hometown. If it was possible, we all could visit as a group,’

‘That would be fun,’ Laura smiled slightly, ‘If that was possible,’ she handed him the photographs. It would never be possible, not until she the head of her family and incharge of her life. ‘I should go… goodnight Jungkook,’

‘Goodnight,’ Jungkook patted her head out of instinct but ran away before Laura could turn to look at him.

 

_Lyrical Music (If you'd like)[Fleurie - Sirens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10bXmmO33tg&ab_channel=Fleurie) _

Meanwhile, Ash and Jimin entered the deserted and silent common room. The dying embers were the only source of light from the underground section. They could hear the sirens singing under the Great Lake, deep, soothing voices echoing around the room.

‘Are you heading to your dorm?’ Jimin asked.

‘No, I’m not sleepy yet. Let’s sit in the lower room for a bit? For once it’s empty’ she asked, her eyes hooded but not with sleep. ‘We’ve hardly been able to just… be in each other’s company.’

Jimin felt a jump inside him from the way she looked at him, all her attention and focus intensely pouring into him. He watched her eyes subtly glance over him, resting briefly over the neckline of his shirt. And Jimin didn’t think too much, his body just responded to her gaze.

‘Sure, let’s sit there for a while,’ he moved closer, a hand wrapping around her waist. ‘But… can I carry you till there?’

Ash inhaled sharply, feeling Jimin tug her closer. She nodded with a slight daze. Jimin’s eyes returned to hers, this time fiercer. Ash had seen his strong arms but she hadn't felt them this way, wrapped around her, flexing. Breaking the eye contact, Jimin bent a little, picking her up and Ash felt the breath go out of her. He took her to their favourite sofa and gently lowered her onto it. Ash felt the erratic beat of his heart when her hand dragged down his chest as he pulled away, red flush creeping over his neck.

‘Are you thirsty?’ he asked looking anywhere but at her, hand at the back of his neck trying to cool the heated reaction he was having to have had her lithe body pressed against his. ‘Should I get you some water?’

Ash nodded watching him with bright eyed anticipation, realising she was thirsty in more than one way. She watched his movements carefully as he went to the table in front of them. Her eyes traced the lines of his body, the outline of his torso which was scandalously visible through the thin shirt and the dim light filtering through. His built shoulders tapering out to a slim waist that flared slightly to accommodate the thick thighs in his tight, dark pants. The curves of his muscular thighs and that beautiful firm butt was indeed making her thirsty. Jimin turned around, glass of water in hand and Ash, out of habit pretended like she wasn’t just admiring his perfect butt.

But Jimin saw the flicker of her eyes and smiled to himself as he walked towards her. Standing in front of her, he held out the glass and she took it, gulping some water. His other hand snaked behind her, holding on to the headrest of the sofa and he put his knees on either side of Ash’s thighs, balancing his weight on his knees.

‘Jimin-’

But his lips were too close to hers for her to have any mind space to speak words. He took the glass of water from her and put it on the side table.

‘Still thirsty?’ He asked, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. The heat constantly built between them in ripples.

‘Yeah…’ she whispered, letting her hands roam over his thighs, pushing her head forward to kiss him but he moved back slightly with a teasing smile.

‘You’re teasing me?’ her hands instinctively grabbed his ass with a squeeze. She looked at him to see how he reciprocated and Jimin seemed to be enjoying it a lot, tongue swiping just the slightest over his lower lip.

Jimin bent down and kissed her, open mouthed and heated. He had wanted this for so long. For them to be alone, undistracted, immersed in each other. The only sounds around them were the call of sirens somewhere deep in the lake and their own heavy breaths. She nipped at his lip and he moaned softly, his hands coming up to hold her neck. Ash’s hands continued to squeeze and grope at his thighs and his ass and she could tell he liked that by the way his tongue pushed against hers, growing urgent and hungry. Jimin felt his shirt being pulled out and the sensation of her cool fingers were on his back, exploring smooth skin. Ash bent her head back, letting him bury himself on her neck, her lips parted in pleasure. They pulled back for a moment, pausing letting the heat between them settle into their bones.

Jimin’s flushed face looked at her, still amazed at the way Ash’s eyes changed colour to a darker shade of green, watching him with an intensity that made him want to completely give himself over and lose what little restraint he had.

‘Come back here,’ she whispered and Jimin enjoyed the way her eyes were staring his lips.

Jimin moved closer but stayed out of her arms reach. Wanting to tease her again, he leaned down, their skin a whisper apart, rasping, ‘Is this close enough?’

A thrill shot up Ash’s spine at the lilt of his voice, she knows he was playing and refused to back down into the game so she scooted backwards on the sofa, neck completely resting on the back of it, away from the delirious heat that was building between them, ‘Not yet.’ she whispered her hands settling on his forearms as he leaned over her. She applied a little pressure there pulling him towards her. Jimin grinned wider, crawling over her legs, eyes alight, ‘Now?’ his head cocked to the side.

‘Not yet,’ Ash whispered and before Jimin can take another breath she leaned forward and captured his pouting lips in a searing kiss.

He was still half-leaned over her, hands balancing, ‘Ash,’ he murmured lips glistening and eyes half-lidded, her nails scratched slightly over the taut shirt. Jimin shuddered dropping his neck to her chest, gently curving into her touch. She was driving him to a cliff, persuading whispering in his ears to give in, to fall over without a fight. Jimin shuddered the sensations driving points of heat to the edge of his nerves. He was trying so hard not to melt against her body.

They heard some giggling and stumbling footsteps and then someone trying to shush the other.

‘Are you sure this is ok?’ they heard a guy’s voice. Ash and Jimin both looked at each other in surprised and Jimin mouthed a ‘Hobi?’ Ash nodded, agreeing with him.

‘Yes it’s totally fine. No one’s going to tell on me,’

That was Yoongi. Ash and Jimin saw the two boys creep towards the dorms, clearly drunk in love.

‘Jimin is going to throw me out,’ Hoseok said.

‘He’s not. He’s our best friend isn’t he,’

And the two disappeared into the winding staircase.

Jimin burst into giggles, burying his head on Ash’s chest that shook with laughter as well. Anyone could catch them any moment now. They were being too daring. Both looked at each other, slightly out of breath and then Jimin said, ‘Let’s cuddle for a bit, please,’

Ash nodded and Jimin settled back on the armrest of the sofa. His hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush towards him, chest pressing, feeling the faint thrum of a shudder pass through their bodies crushed together. Ash almost wanted to coo at how Jimin folded himself into her as her hands curved over his solid shoulders and the column of his neck.

‘I guess I’ll have to crash here. I don’t want to invade whatever is going on in there,’ Jimin said.

‘I’ll keep you company then,’ she kissed the top of his head. These were stolen moments, but they might just be good enough.

*

It was colder than usual for Hoseok… and the bed seemed smaller than usual as well. Gone were the sound of chirping birds and warm streaming sunlight. Now he heard the water of the lakes and sirens singing in the far depths of it. He felt something poke him, like something blunt walking over him. He opened his eyes to a room darker than he was used to.  In his vision was a furry ginger cat, looking at him with big eyes.

‘Meow!’ it called out to him and started to purr. Hoseok looked to his side where Yoongi was stirring from the tangle of limbs.

‘Go now Suga, I’ll feed you later,’ Yoongi seemed to be speaking to the cat but the cat climbed further up and settled on Hoseok’s chest. The feline was purring, head down in sleep, much like his owner.

‘Umm… Yoon, your cat won’t scratch right?’

Yoongi smiled at hearing Hoseok’s voice, eyes still closed. ‘He won’t,’ and Hoseok felt Yoongi’s leg go over his under the blanket. Hoseok smiled, remembering the wonderful date and the cozy sleep. He remembered how they had kissed, how amazing it had felt and he wanted to feel it again… probably keep feeling it forever. He shifted his head towards Yoongi, taking a light sniff of his hair that surprisingly smelled of wood and orange blossoms.

‘Hobi!’ a whisper stopped him from immersing again to the titillating scent. He opened his eyes and Jimin stood next to the bed. ‘Yoongi! Wake up!’

Yoongi grunted, waving his roommate away, ‘Not yet,’

‘You should get Hoseok out of the dorm before everyone else wakes up!’ Jimin said again.

‘He’s right,’ Hoseok tried to move and Jimin took Suga into his arms. (Yoongi had to be pulled out of the bed.)

‘Here,’ Yoongi handed him his regular school cloak while stifling a yawn. Hoseok looked at his bed ridden hair and how adorably it framed his puffy face.

‘Wear this. Hopefully people should think you’re a Slytherin,’

Hoseok put his arms through the sleeves. The fit was just a little tight for him but it would do. He stood in front of the mirror and tugged on the collar to make it sit right, eyes catching a purple mark on his neck. Hoseok’s cheeks flushed red and a smile found it’s way on his lips remembering it was Yoongi’s skilful mouth that did that... and he just might want to show it off a little bit.

‘Ready?’ Yoongi asked.

Hoseok bent down and pecked his lips once, making Yoongi pink again. ‘Yeah, now I’m ready,’

‘Let’s go, we’ll flank you,’ Jimin said and the three escaped out of the common room, unnoticed by whoever had risen early.

*

_Lyrical Music (If you'd like)[Goldfrapp - Thea](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjRBYLdqyBg&ab_channel=GoldfrappTV) _

It was quite warm in Greenhouse No.5 for an autumn afternoon. The sunlight streaming from the glass panelled walls immersed the space in golden hues, making the droplets on the watered plants shimmer like diamonds.

Laura was working alone at her desk, observing a wild rose plant to make a diagram of it. The flower was dusky pink in color. That was an unusual color, she thought. But she liked it. It gave the plant a rustic, mysterious feel. The thorns on this plant were the same color as the petals, sticking out long and sharp on the stem. She stretched out her hand to touch it, just to know how sharp they were. Suddenly, she felt someone behind her, and a pair of muscular forearms came on either side of hers, their palms resting on her table and the sudden intrusion made the thorn prick her, a scarlet drop emerging on her pale fingertip. She took her hand back, sucking on the wound lightly as she noticed the bite mark on the forearm of the intruder. The bite mark from her own teeth.

‘What are you doing here?’ She asked the invader.

‘You called me here,’ came his deep voice, so close to her ear. She could feel him breathe behind her as his chest moved against her back.

‘No I didn't-’ her words were cut off because she felt him place his palm on her stomach, making her gasp.

‘You did… you don't remember?’ His voice still raspy and his hands travelled the expanse of her stomach, caressing it, making her catch her breath. It tickled her strangely, in a way that she wanted to feel more of it. Holding on to her waist he slowly turned her around. His hands came to rest on either side of her waist.

‘No I… I don't think I did,’ she fumbled nervously now that she was facing him. Her cheeks were so heated up she was surprised that there wasn't any steam just rising from her skin. She couldn't make herself look at him in the eyes. Her gaze would stop at his lips… the lips she had strangely wanted to touch the other day. He was giving his usual smug smile, probably enjoying the way he was getting her worked up.

‘Well if you didn't call me, then I should go away, shouldn't I?’ He said but didn't move. Laura couldn't help her hands as they curled around the fabric of his white shirt on his broad, muscular chest. His scent was making her thirsty, craving to taste something… something, she didn't know what.

‘Should I go away? Say it and I will,’

But Laura was suddenly mute. She wanted to push him away but she didn't want to let go of that scent which was driving her crazy.

‘You…’ she whispered, her eyes watching how the skin on his neck glowed in the sunlight. His collar pulled back, his muscular chest and shoulders peeking through the few undone buttons. Would he cry out if she bit him there… at the curve of his smooth neck… She wanted to hear him cry in the pain she inflicted on him.

‘Tell me,’ he asked again, coming even closer to her, pressing the front of his body to hers. He bent his head lower and Laura closed her eyes as she felt something soft and warm on her neck making her elicit the sound that she wanted to hear from him.

‘Laura?’ The voice echoed in her head. Why was he calling out to her right now. She didn't want to hear it, not when she was feeling this exquisite sensation.

‘Laura!’ The voice was more urgent this time, and sounded different. She felt herself shake, the ground beneath her giving away and she was falling, only to feel her back hit something soft.

She opened her eyes and saw the green canopy of her bed in front of her eyes but her vision was soon full of her roommate, green eyes looking at her worriedly, her short brown hair falling on the sides of her face.

‘Are you ok? You sounded like you were having a bad dream!’ She said as Laura slowly sat up on the bed. She blinked, trying to remember what exactly she was dreaming about and her stomach felt like it was flipping over itself.

‘What… what did you hear?’ Laura asked her nervously.

‘I couldn't figure out any words… you were murmuring and then you cried like something hurt you. What was it?’

Blood rushed into Laura’s cheeks as she desperately tried to avoid Ash’s searching eyes. Her hand automatically reached to the spot on her neck where she had felt him touch her. It was like the sensation had lingered on from the dream into reality, her skin felt ignited.

‘Yes… yes it was a nightmare… a really really bad nightmare which I hope never ever comes true,’

‘Oh my god! What did you see?’

‘A really big… scary bunny. Wanted to eat me,’ her words and actions were awkward as she tumbled out of bed and ran to brush her teeth.

Jungkook didn’t believe that he would ever fail, but he was failing. His resolution to stop looking at Laura Dracwyn never held up. He stared at failure everyday, his eyes following her subtly whenever she was in the immediate vicinity. He was hooked, she had become his obsession.

Most mornings he sat facing the Slytherin table and knew that she would sit at the same spot at the front of the table, facing him. The mussed up waves of her dark hair, her sleep-glistened eyes and her slightly sticking out lower lip told him all about her difficulties in waking up.

The fork in his hand stabbed his food and lifted it to his mouth. He hardly knew what he was doing, vision still trained on the Slytherin prefect, until he heard Jin yell,

‘Yah! Stop stealing from my plate!’

Startled, he looked toward at Jin who usually sat at the Gryffindor table but today for some reason had graced the Ravenclaws with his beautiful presence. Jin was giving Jungkook a suspicious glare still upset at having his food stolen from him. All the girls on the table were craning their necks and giggling excitedly at having the Prince of their school sit so close to them. The opportunity to continuously gaze at his ethereal beauty was something none of them wanted to miss.

‘Why are you here today? You left Namjoon all alone?’ Jungkook asked and Jin’s face turned serious.

‘I came here to spend some time with Emina,’ Jin said, scooting closer to the Head Girl who was sitting next to him. He grabbed her arm and put his head on her shoulder. ‘She’s been neglecting me,’

‘Are you a child?’ Emina said rolling her eyes.

‘Emina gives attention to only one person now,’ Jungkook sniggered, earning a glare from her.

‘It's true! I see the heart eyes you give to Vanessa!’ Jin said lifting his face and pretending to feel hurt with poured lips, ‘You've forgotten us all!’

‘Stop being a crybaby all of you!’ Emina exasperated. ‘And, I’m not giving heart eyes to anyone,’ she muttered.

Ash was watching Laura as she stabbed into her sausage, frustration still clear in her body language. There was a shot of lightning in the dark grey sky of the Great Hall’s ceiling and Ash felt like Laura was reflecting the gloomy weather.

‘The dream still bugging you?’ She asked.

‘What dream?’ Jimin asked, joining in the conversation as he sat next to Ash.

‘She dreamt of a monster bunny,’ Ash said. ‘Wanted to eat her,’

‘A monster bunny with an appetite? You don't need dreams for that, we have one of our own,’ Jimin said.

‘What do you mean?’ Ash asked.

‘Jungkook, the hungry bunny,’ Jimin motioned towards Jungkook. Laura froze in her spot, eyes alarmed and cheeks turning red. Why was it that somehow Jimin always spoke the truth even without being aware of it.

Both Ash and Jimin turned to look at Jungkook seated on the table behind them and found the Ravenclaw averting his eyes to the ceiling but everyone knew he had been caught.

‘Nice weather today,’ he sighed, trying to pretend to the Slytherins that he was conversing with his housemates all along.

‘It's gloomy and cloudy like a storms about to come,’ Emina said in a dead voice. ‘What's so nice about that?’

‘Maybe Jungkook isn't talking about the sky being nice,’ Jin said giving a knowing smile which made Jungkook curse under his breath and leave the table after stuffing his mouth with the muffin in Emina’s hand, leaving the Head Girl scowling.

‘See, told you he's an eating monster,’ Jimin said as he watched a chubby bunny leave the Great Hall.

‘He was looking at us wasn't he?’ Ash asked Laura in a low voice.

‘Huh? What? No. He wasn't. He was talking to his housemates,’ Laura said awkwardly and returned to stabbing her sausage. Laura could hardly eat. Whenever she remembered the dream (she almost couldn't take her mind off it) her stomach would do a backflip and she would have too many flutters in her stomach to push food into it.

Jungkook was in the corridor with Sierra and Yugyeom as they read the notices on the board outside the Transfiguration class. A familiar voice drew his eyes to the other side of the corridor and his insides fluttered instantly. He saw her shrouded in faint sunlight from the massive window. Thinking she was safe in the company of her friends, her form loose from sleep, she had been more languid. Her slender arms had reached up, the dark green sleeves sliding down to reveal her lithe wrists, so slight if he held it tight enough she would blossom blue bruises. He couldn’t help but wonder how it would be to run his hands down those very alluring arms, down to her smaller hands that looked so frail but could wield a spell of destruction so potent that could reduce to dust the very wall he leaned against.

She might or might not have noticed the tall form of Jeon Jungkook leaning against the wall. His athlete’s skin was tanned, and the white school shirt stretched across his chest, the blue robe nowhere in sight. Her heart stopped, seeing this visual right out of her dream, the sun kissed body of Jungkook in a white shirt, staring at her. His gaze flustered her and she wondered if she should curse him for the staring. The air around them growing heavy, almost crackling, electric. Her lips turned up slightly but he was focused on her eyes, slowly straightening, eyes still challenging her to look away. Ohh, but she wouldn’t, except her head turned sharply when Vanessa hissed and complained of a stinging pain that came from brushing against her arm.

Yoongi looked back and took her hand in his, exclaiming it was probably the strange muggle ‘stactic ekleticity’ and made Vanessa laugh at his excited rants about it. Laura cursed in her head as her periphery caught a madly grinning Jungkook trying not to look too smug. She wanted to sting him until he could no longer move, or smack his face until he stopped looking so damn smug.

‘Jungkook!’ Yugyeom’s voice was shrill in his ear. He winced, covering the sides of his head with his palm.

‘Why are you screaming!?’

‘Coz now you are deaf even while awake! Are we having Quidditch practice or not?’

‘Yeah yeah, we are,’

‘When?’

‘Now. C’mon let's go,’ and Jungkook left hurriedly, making Yugyeom run behind him.

Sierra, the Ravenclaw prefect was still standing there with her arms crossed, watching them go with narrowed eyes. As always she had chosen to stay silent and observe… observe all the strange things happening around her. Strange new developments which she did not like. If the rumours were true, Dracwyn and Min were hanging out with the Hufflepuffs. More specifically, they were hanging out with 2 of Jungkook’s closest friends, not to forget Jimin tying them all together. She had seen Emina talking casually to Vorhart and Dracwyn a number of times, and she had no idea what they would even have in common to talk about. The more scandalous rumours stated that Jin was on the Slytherin’s side now. She wouldn't have believed that if she hadn't herself seen him and his best friend Namjoon spending a little too much time with Vorhart, Jimin and Vanessa Turner. Clearly something had happened to bring them all closer.

But most of all, she hated this new kind of attention Jungkook was giving Dracwyn. Why would he suddenly change his behaviour towards her? Was it because Taehyung was apparently Dracwyn’s friend now? She had seen him looking at her quite often and it made her want to rip Dracwyn’s smug face off.  _Like that serpent needs anymore attention to herself._  She was worried Jungkook was drifting away from her, enjoying the Slytherins’ company too much, with their devil may care attitude and luxurious lifestyles. She was worried that he will make himself look like a fool. She had herself seen him give a piggyback ride to Vorhart all through Hogsmeade, as if her own boyfriend couldn't do that for her. These Slytherins always acted so pompous that it made her nauseous. She wanted to put an end to this. House Slytherin didn't need to mingle with the rest and the rest certainly didn't need to mingle with the troublesome, patronising serpents.

But how would she do it? Jungkook didn't want to listen to anything she had to say. If she tried to reason with him, he would just give her an annoyed look and walk away and she had pushed him away enough because of this. She couldn't afford to put any more distance between them. She missed the days they spent time together. Initially, she was glad that somehow their friend circles merged. Till the fourth year, she had only admired him from afar. He was as perfect as one could wish for- intelligent, funny, strong and just so good looking. There was nothing that he couldn't do if he put his mind to it. She had never seen someone learn as fast as him. Such a combination of brain and beauty was encountered only once in a lifetime and Sierra certainly didn't want to lose that. She found him too enticing to turn away from now.

And it wouldn't be difficult for someone else to notice these outstanding qualities of him. It was hard to miss. She knew many juniors had a crush on him but they dare not express it too openly. They must certainly have sensed the way Sierra was protective of him. They should stop dreaming that Jungkook would pass over her to date some junior. They were close, they were friends since a long time and she bet no one knew as much about him or cared as much about him as she did. She hoped Jungkook realized that… soon. Because she was scared of the fact that Laura Dracwyn might catch on to his amazingly attractive qualities as well, now that somehow they were spending so much time together. She knew the weird obsession Dracwyn had with Jungkook could not be normal. No one went to such lengths to defeat someone in everything they did. Their rivalry was extreme to the next level. And the scary fact is that it got both Jungkook and Laura crazy, when they were up against each other. They weren't this competitive when competing with others. Why were they so obsessed with defeating each other?

She had to do something fast before this whole situation made any further progress and decided to meet the group of students she never thought she would.

Soon Sierra was in an old classroom, sitting across Jessica Simpson and Annie Wilson of Gryffindor house.

‘You noticed it too?’ Jessica’s crazy blue eyes were wide as she looked at Sierra. ‘I told you Annie, I wasn't the only one!’

‘Well this means we gotta plan something!’ Annie said, her dark brows raised high. ‘We can't let our Prince get close to those serpents!’

‘You really refer to him as Prince when talking?’ Sierra asked disbelievingly.

‘He is equal to one! He is of the pure and royal blood! If there was still a monarch, I'm sure it would be Prince Jin ruling over us all with wisdom and valor,’ Annie defended herself. ‘Even you have to agree he looks majestic. He looks like a prince, acts like a prince,’

‘He may look like one but he seems quite a goofy dofu-’ Sierra stopped speaking her opinions as Annie glared at her. Sierra didn't want to argue with them right now, she needed them.

‘Namjoon needs to be distanced from that Vorhart as much as possible. She has a boyfriend now doesn't she?’ Jessica said. ‘Why does she still need our house and school leader to visit her in the hospital? He has far more important things to do. What is she even sick with? I think it was all drama. Why can't she be around her own housemates, I don't understand,’

‘Probably because her own housemates are busy getting arrested and evading the law with their bribe money,’

‘Guess she loves to keep Namjoon hanging. She must be flirting with him when he is just genuinely expressing concern like he does with all of us. How can he be so caring towards every student in the school!’

‘He has a golden heart! And we have to protect that from these black bloods!’ Annie’s eyes were glistening with adoration. Seirra resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Could they come to the point of the discussion?

‘I heard rumours about the court case,’ Annie turned to Sierra. ‘Are they true? Jin testified FOR the Slytherins?’

‘It might be, I'm not too sure. Everyone's talking about it,’ Sierra said.

‘Can't you ask Jeon about it? He's good friend with NamJin. I'm sure he knows the truth,’

‘I did ask him and he said he doesn't know anything. But the point is, we can't have this new friendship forming. The Slytherins only need one of them to make the rest follow suit. Imagine what will happen if the Head Boy, the  _Prince_  and my prefect all start favouring the Slytherins? We are done for then,’

‘You are right. It's scary to even think of!’

‘They will have all the power in the school! They’ll expect all of us to bow down to them,’

‘The Head Girl, the Hufflepuff prefects, they all will merge into that group too. We can't let them have that. Till now it was possible to stop the Slytherins from going overboard with their bullying because we had these other members of the student council keeping a check on them,’

‘No, this certainly cannot happen! We won't let it!’

‘There is too much at stake. We can't let Namjoon be caught in a hurtful triangle between Vorhart and her boyfriend,’

‘What are you planning to do about it?’ Seirra asked, her eyes gauging them carefully.

‘Leave it to us. I’m sure the rest of us will be outraged when they know about these new developments. We’ll dig up some dirt on the Slytherins. They should just remain what they were- Blackbloods,’

‘Just make sure it doesn’t affect anyone from the other houses alright?’ Sierra said. She would absolutely hate for Jungkook to get involved in some scandal that these girls create.

Taehyung came into his common room, looking for his Quidditch captain and he found him napping on the sofa.

‘JUNG HOSEOK!’ He screamed, making him wake up with a start.

‘What is it?’ Hoseok rubbed his eyes, scowling at Taehyung. ‘I was napping,’

‘No napping for you. You will not nap anymore!’ He said and held out the yellow cloth he was holding. It was a yellow robe with Taehyung’s name on the back, the number 5 written below it in black.

‘Have you forgotten? You have a fresh first time seeker. Are you going to put me on the pitch without any practice? Are you going to disappoint the whole house?’

‘Disappoint the house? What are you saying! You know I won't let that happen! We will play our best-’

‘Our best? How will we play our best without any practice? You know we have a match next week. We have practiced just thrice over the past month! WE ARE PLAYING AGAINST GRYFFINDOR! BLOODY UNBEATABLE GOLDEN LIONS! Do you know how fierce their game is? Do you know how determined they get on the field? I am so scared to face them. You are our captain! Get up and train us! You were Hufflepuff’s hope Hoseok. Because of you we won the cup after such a long time. Without you, the team won't survive, ’

Hoseok looked at Taehyung for a while who’s face was flustered pink while his eyes sparkled light blue.

‘Tae your eyes…’ Hoseok said, narrowing his own to see properly. Taehyung looked away awkwardly, patting down the hair on his forehead which had grown quite long now. He was trying to cover his eyes with his hair.

‘It's…. Since Dumbledore lifted the seal on my powers… these eyes are my real form,’ Taehyung said with downcast eyes.

‘How… how do you feel? It’s been a while since he unsealed it right?’

‘I’m okay… feel less constrained. But… this is another reason I'm nervous about the match… I don't wanna lose it while we play,’

Hoseok stood up and went to the boy. He gently put his palm on the younger’s neck and lowered his own head so that they could be on level.

‘If Dumbledore decided to do this, I’m sure you’ll be alright. The only thing I'm worried about is my seeker should be able to see through his dark curtain of hair!’ Hoseok pushed his hair back playfully. ‘Tae Tae you need a haircut!’

‘No!’ Taehyung pushed him away, patting his hair back down. ‘Bogum’s already obsessing over my eye color change! He's not ready to believe that I made Emina change the color. He's been hounding her for the spell for it. He doesn't stop staring!’

‘Well they suit you so well!’ Hoseok said.

‘Do they?’ Taehyung looked up in surprise.

‘Yeah! You look like some international model now! Go get those people you were crushing on. Ah!!! See! Look at you blush!’ Hoseok grabbed Taehyung and ruffled his hair. ‘Go tell everyone we are having practice right now,’

*

Ash was walking across the Great Hall after class, rummaging in her bag for the book she had been reading last. Professor Flitwick was ambling in the same direction to the staff table as he paused to speak to her, “Miss Vorhart, I did not receive your parchment on the latest assignment.”

Ash stops her moving hands, and looks down at him, mouth slightly agape. ‘Professor Flitwick! I gave it in. I placed it right above the pile when the representative collected it,’

Flitwick hums in thought, ‘Last I checked, only your parchment had been missing. I suppose I might have gotten them mixed in with others perhaps. I’ll look for it then,’

Ash nodded to the short wizard as he walked to his seat. She was frowning, because she clearly remembered submitting all of her work in earlier yet here he was telling her it had gone missing. She didn’t give it much thought as she took her seat across Van and Yoongi debating about the best version of some obscure piece of instrumental music. Laura was sitting with a book open under her nose, missing every time she brought her spoon to her lips.

‘Hey Laura, have you seen the book I was reading at the common room? I can’t find it anywhere,’ Ash said settling down.

‘What?’ Laura asked, eyebrows raised. Ash pursed her lips, trying not to dwell on what had her roommate so distracted these days.

Ash muttered, ‘Never mind,’ as she reached for her lunch. She didn’t fail to notice how Laura moved slightly to the left, so she could clearly sight the Ravenclaw table right across from her. Ash smiled slightly, trying hard no to oust Laura as she surreptitiously eyed the table (or to be more specific, Laura was eyeing the saga unfolding between a wild muscled bunny and the female Ravenclaw prefect Laura wished would disappear under the trampling hooves of an Erumpent)

‘Hey, have you seen my notebook anywhere? That purple one,’ Laura asked, ‘It’s missing since a day or two,’

Ash shook her head, wondering if both of them had somehow got bitten by the misplacement bug.

A small quivering voice next to Ash almost whispered, ‘Miss Vorhart?’ The source is a timid second year wearing the Slytherin robe, looking at her with large dark eyes. Ash smiled warmly at the clearly nervous girl as she gestures for her to continue. ‘I think you are a really c-cool captain. A-and I am going to work on my quidditch too,’ The girl had a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead as she blurted it out and swiftly turned and ran back to her friends after she was done.

Somehow even after years of being told such words to her face, Ash was still pleasantly surprise every time it happened. Though they had some amazing girl players, most players in quidditch were still boys. Ash just wanted to such things to become standard for all, she wanted was to share the joy of playing the game with all. In the forefront of her mind, Ash felt happiness touch her as she remembered where she had seen the second year girl during the orientation she had managed to organize. She felt a warmth radiating down her chest as she finished her food.

All the thoughts of quidditch made her miss her broom and she decided to get some varnish from the broom sheds to polish her broom. She was walking down to the ground when she heard someone calling her. She figured they would call again and kept up her slow pace, feet carefully avoiding the little muddy puddles in the ground.

But the next second Ash felt her book bag split and slip, the inkwells and split pages flying in a small explosion as they fell into a particularly large puddle. Ash herself fell back in surprise, whipping her hand to reach for her wand as she watched a couple of girls laugh loudly before slipping away.

‘HEY!’ Ash screamed once getting to her feet to get back at them, stepping on a parchment soaking up the muddy water like it was thirsty.

‘Goddamn it!’ she screamed in frustration before picking up her books, pieces of her broken quill and inkwell. She grit her teeth as she picked her things up, waving her wand over them chanting repair non verbally. ‘How am I supposed to get rid of the muddy water on it?’ She wailed, using choice words to describe the people responsible for this. And her mind was just wandering towards the possibilities of why this had happened to her when she heard a deep voice behind her.

‘Hey, do you need any help?’ Namjoon asked, his eyes trained in the distance looking the same direction the red robed girls had disappeared before he bent down to help her dry her books.

‘Here.’ He handed her the dried books as he waved his wand over the parchment.

‘Oh! Thanks Namjoon,’ Ash exclaimed, placing everything in her now repaired bag.

A few moments passed in silence and then, ‘Ash, I’m sorry I will make sure to find the ones responsible for this and give them detention for s. I don't-’

‘Stop,’ Ash said without looking at him while her hands pulled at the straps of her bag to make sure the spell had worked properly. ‘You can't keep apologising for others Namjoon. Just promise me this that you won't dock points from me when I get my hands on them.’

Namjoon ducked his head embarrassed, conflicted between duty and doing what’s technically right. ‘I will talk to them again,’

Ash shook her head her exasperated expression now apparent in her face, ‘Some things aren't sorted by talking. I don't think this will stop that way. I’m going to make sure they don't trouble anyone like this again,’


	13. Badgers and Lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor with Taehyung's first quidditch match!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo! I am baaack!!! and what an amazing cb we've had! *I dunno how we'll beat our own record next cb*
> 
> *For those who read the snippets on Twitter, please don't skip that in this chapter since I made some *ahem ahem* additions*
> 
> I'm sure y'all might have seen me in disbelief over the OCs getting love at some point of my spazzing. When I hear people's fav character is Laura, Vanessa or Ash I'm like 'really? Is this real? Did this really happen? It can't be!' 
> 
> It really, truly, fills my heart to see the OCs getting love. Because for so long this story remained in my drafts because I knew OC trope isn't popular but at the same time, I didn't want to remove these characters I created with thought and love. I was conflicted for quite a long time. So thank you to each and every one of you (really from the bottom of my heart) for giving this story a chance!
> 
> And that's what made me sprinkle some extra Laura-Kook in this chapter! (I hope you like it)
> 
> (I wrote the last two sections with a headache, so please, if Sope seem extra sappy, PLEASE JUST ROLL WITH IT! I'M WEAK FOR THESE TWO, I WRITE THE CHEESIEST SHIT FOR THEM)
> 
> For the quidditch match, I think I made a good decision waiting till cb coz now.... I COULD WRITE THE QUIDDITCH ACTION LISTENING TO DIONYSUS!!
> 
> Soundtracks for the match would be - Not Today, Dionysus, Idol.  
> (Please visualise the match like some dramatic shounen anime :P and forget any laws of physics that you're aware of coz clearly I forgot to apply them...apologies)

Ash found Jimin in the library, in one of the aisles in the back, body curled around a particularly thick volume called  _Achievements in Charming_. His breath tickled the edges of the books’ pages as he slept on the desk. Ash debated whether to leave the vial of wolfsbane at the table or if she should wait for him to wake up. She knew Jimin hadn’t been able to sleep too well as the full moon drew closer. Jimin had constant anxiety over it, keeping the ‘monster’ as he called it, at bay.

She ran her hands through his charcoal hair. Jimin’s breathing immediately changed, and with little coaxing he was up. His hair almost a bird’s nest, eyes drooping with sleep. Dark circles populated the skin around his eyes, and Ash’s quick eyes also noticed the red and fading scabs on his knuckles with pursed lips.

‘Jimin-’ Ash started holding out her hand, her tone stern and he looked at her confused. She sighed and indicated to his injured hand with her eyes.

‘So. When are you coming back to quidditch practice?’ she asked, wand touching the scabs on his hands.

‘Soon,’ Jimin answered monotonously.

‘This will sting,’ Ash said as she waved her wand over his hand. Jimin winced as the spell washed over him, the split skin closing and repairing itself right in front of his eyes.

‘Here,’ She pushed the Wolfsbane towards him. Before Jimin could murmur a thanks, they saw a passing student lean into their aisle, eyeing the wolfsbane bottle with interest. He wouldn't have known it was wolfsbane for sure… this brown liquid could be anything. But Jimin knew the suspicion had taken root in that boy’s mind.

Jimin raised his eyebrows. ‘Can I help you? Are you looking for something?’

The boy shook his head and ran away from there.

*

Laura ripped through the common room tables searching for something with a quiet frown materializing on her face. A couple of fifth years moved hastily out of the way when she looked around the room before marching away hotly.

‘Not found the notebook yet?’ Yoongi asked her.

‘No. And I know I haven’t misplaced it. I don’t misplace things! Someone’s taken it,’ she grit through her teeth, remembering the last time it had gone missing and then suddenly stormed off from the messy room. Her cousin could only look at her retreating form in confusion.

Jeon Jungkook was enjoying one of those rare days when he and most of his friends had the privilege of sharing a double free hour before lunch. It was also a time they had to dodge teachers lest they find them and put them to work, one of the many downsides of being a prefect. Sometimes he missed the days where he could skip classes, or sometimes even pretend to hate class. Jungkook just had to feign sleep even as he diligently listened to every word attentively so he could at least get a passing grade in the subject. With the prefect badge he had to remain a model student, the ‘golden boy’.

‘Jungkook come on! I bet you can’t do this,’ Taehyung cackled as he waved a whole slice of pumpkin pie in front of the Ravenclaw’s face before he opened his own mouth and crammed the whole of it inside it.

Jimin wasn't impressed, he had seen Taehyung wolf down plenty of pastries without having to break it down, he calmly continued with the letter to his brother, occasionally checking if Tae or Kook had managed to choke to death.

Jungkook scoffed at Taehyung, grabbing a piece of the large pumpkin pie that Jin had managed to bake in the kitchens after he had deceived the house elves with a “new recipe” that he was ‘teaching them.’ It had looked spectacular when Jin had left it in Tae and Jimin’s hands this morning before he had to leave for his class, but now there was maybe a little less than half of it left. The Ravenclaw captain grabbed a large slice of the pie with a challenging look on his face.

Jimin looked up once from his letter chin in hand to watch Jungkook’s bunny teeth make an appearance and knew immediately the outcome of the bet. Jungkook paused trying not to let Tae defeat him in this little battle, he had already lost to the younger in a fastest soda drinking match once before, and this was the only way he could redeem himself. Taehyung slowly chewed on the food in his bulging cheeks, looking ready to pounce at the slightest hint of hesitation in Jungkook’s eyes, but Jungkook wasn’t called the ‘golden boy’ for nothing. He left Taehyung in the dust when he managed to fit the entire thing crushed to crumbs into his mouth.

‘That’s cheating,’ Taehyung swallowed one side of his chubby food filled cheek before he yelled trying to catch Jimin’s attention so he could judge their impromptu competition. ‘Hey, Jimin, tell him it’s a foul. That’s invalid, you couldn’t even close your mouth to chew it,’

Jungkook flailed his hands, eyes wide still unable to speak but steadily making progress as his jaw worked towards it. Taehyung was still pestering Jimin, while Jungkook concentrated on chewing, but an enraged, ‘JEON JUNGKOOK,’ made him stop mid-chew, eyes wide.

Laura stormed in with purpose as Jungkook went into his shook mode, to be caught in such an unflattering manner in front of the one person who he may or may not want to impress…he wished he knew how to apparate already or at least turn invisible on command. But Jungkook had to maintain a frown even as he frantically tried not to panic. He raised an eyebrow.

‘Hi, Laura!’ Taehyung chimed in releasing one of his boxed smiles, while Jimin lifted a lazy hand in acknowledgement. He figured his indolent greeting would go unnoticed by Laura and it did because her eyes were locked on her prey. Jimin leaned back on his hands, suddenly interested in the possible outcome of this encounter.

And Laura did not disappoint. ‘Jeon Jungkook, are you perhaps in possession of my things again?’ she asked with barely concealed annoyance. Jimin honestly enjoyed the look of absolute confusion on Jungkook’s face, although neither Jimin nor Taehyung know what it is all about anyway.

In the time that it takes to finish his previous task, Jungkook opted for a quicker response, shaking his head and holding up a finger to indicate a moment for him to collect himself. Laura’s hands jumped from her hips to her front folded over each other as she leaned back on one foot to look him in the eye, silently urging him to finish before she really lost her temper because she really had better work to do instead of watching him imitate a bunny.

‘What thing?’ Jungkook asked flippantly, undermining her glare and the impatient tension languidly coursing through her body nearly undetectable as she narrows her eyes at him.

‘Where’s my notebook?’ she bit out still focused on him, even as Jimin and Taehyung form a quiet audience.

The tension intensified when Jungkook realized what she is talking about and what this new-fangled accusation against him was. His first reaction was to deny all charges and throw in the towel, but this opportunity to tease her was too lucrative to pass over, ‘How would I know the whereabouts of it?’

Her foot tapped twice sharply on the floor and she didn’t notice all three pairs of eyes focus their attention to the sound, she could see he was dragging this around. ‘Remember the time you stole it? Right from under my nose?’

It was his turn to bristle and if Jungkook were a canine, all his hackles would have risen as he prepared for a fight, and he would not let her have the satisfaction of seeing him riled up. So he pretended to frown, thinking hard, head tilted upwards for a moment and then looked at her expression completely serious, eyes almost mad even as his voice dropped, ‘Enlighten me again, what precious notebook was this?’

A shiver ran through Laura, and the entire room was silent for a moment as the dragon reared to make an attack, ‘Stop fooling around Jungkook. You very well know what I am talking about or do I need to remind you again of how you got chased by Madam Pince?’

Jimin and Taehyung almost gasped,  _chased by Madam Pince?_  That woman was a banshee in disguise, and Jungkook had made her mad? They were immensely absorbed in the drama that they did not once speak up.

The disbelief on Jungkook’s face and voice almost echoed his two friends’ as he defended himself, ‘What do you mean chased? You’re talking as if it wasn’t your fault.’

Laura’s small victory over him goes by in the flow as the two latch onto something entirely different now, ‘Aha! So you remember! And of course it wasn’t my fault, you were the one-’

At that exact moment an unsuspecting Emina ran blindly into the room, ‘Noooo tell me you haven’t finished the pieeee…..,’ she stopped and her volume faded when she heard Laura’s voice and saw Jungkook standing towering over her. She promptly retreated bumping into Namjoon’s knobby shoulder. When Namjoon looked confused at her sudden retreat, she said, ‘Jungkook is getting his ass handed over, I need some popcorn.’ But Jin is standing in her way peering into the room with interest at the scene.

‘SHhhh…,’ they hear from a distressed Taehyung as Jimin scooted over the desk that he sat on. Jungkook and Laura were still completely unaware of three more pairs of eyes on them, exchanging words back and forth, completely absorbed in each other.

Jungkook was almost intruding into her personal bubble by now, ‘…Madam Pince is still breathing down my neck because you chose to blow up in the library-’

‘I blew up? I- Jeon Jungkook you literally nicked MY notebook and how am I supposed to be calm-’

‘I did not take it!’

‘-it’s now gone again and YOU HAVE IT don’t you?-’

‘-I really can’t understand why you think I have it-’

‘You better come clean. I have better work to do instead of watching a coconut imitate a bunny,’

‘What? You are one to speak. Look a-’

Taehyung sighed silently in the group of onlookers, ‘Why do they always fight? I want them to get along,’ he pouted.

‘Their fists say they’re fighting but their eyes look like they’d kiss any moment,’ Jin whispered excitedly to Jimin who was close to breaking his face smiling at the way his friends bicker. Namjoon nodded and a slew of quiet giggles escape into his hand because a flustered Jungkook and Laura still clueless about the tension between them was the most amusing spectacle to witness. It was as if they were fighting just for the sake of it, without any real heat just tons of frustration.

Laura was now well and truly annoyed, so completely frustrated at the mere sight of Jungkook, ‘I wonder how you get your hands on it. I swear if I find it with you…’

Jungkook was on the other hand sporting a cocky smile, his tone was annoyed even as a part of him enjoyed all the attention Laura focused solely on him. ‘What? What will you do? Besides why would I ever touch your notebook? I don’t want it at all,’

‘Really? Because last time the book magically found its way to you did it? Did you  _accio_ it?’ Laura would never admit it but her heart beat faster the longer she and Jungkook argued, almost as if it would run away with him just as her mouth ran without conscious input from her mind.

He shook his head, hands on his waist. ‘For your journal I wouldn’t even need to. I could just nick it while you nap under that tree,’

‘Is that how you took it this time too!? I knew I should have suspected it when I saw you loitering near my favourite place,’

‘Your favourite place? It has a label now? Its school property anyone can go there. I have better things to do than watch you drool over your book bag,’

‘Then where IS it. FIND ME MY BOOK!’ Laura’s head lowered a little, black hair falling over the sides of her face and he could see the red on her cheek as she almost very quietly said, ‘and I don’t drool,’

Jungkook’s entire rib cage seemed to tighten at that proclamation and he was momentarily stumped. His hand involuntarily lifted a little, as if going to hold Laura’s hand but he tucked it back in, into his pockets. She was unexpectedly adorable in the middle of yelling at him and his big eyes wanted to keep looking at her but he tore himself away from it.

Jungkook stared her down but the strangest thing about it was how their eyes keep slipping each other in relay, cheeks tinged high red with embarrassment and frustration.

Jin, Tae and Jimin were almost grinning too wide and whispering amongst themselves, ‘It’s so cute!’ ‘They don’t even realize what they’re doing,’ ‘They’re so caught up in each other.’

‘I’m going to find it anyhow! Even if I have to up turn every stone in this castle!’

‘You know you could’ve asked my help in finding it instead of accusing me of stealing it? I would’ve helped you look for it,’ Jungkook said.

That startled Laura. She struggled for words, ending up with a flustered ‘Whatever Jeon Jungkook’ and turned around, walking away, leaving a slightly breathless Jungkook staring at her back wondering what the hell had just happened.

*

It was the day of the second match of the year- Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff. The whole school was buzzing with excitement once again. The Hufflepuffs had hung enchanted yellow streamers throughout the hallways, with little pixies flying out from it, singing a Hufflepuff cheering song, while the Gryffindors had already painted their faces red and had red smoke bombs at various spots in the castle which would burst with a ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ yell. They had to dodge Professor Mcgonagall’s eagle eyes else she would send them back to the dorms to clean up their faces for classes. Only Professor Flitwick seemed onboard with the all day cheering, seeing that his charm lessons were coming well in use. The tension wasn't as bad as the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match but the excitement was on the same level, maybe even higher since everyone was dying to see Jung Hoseok back in action.

Ash and Laura waited outside Taehyung’s Divination class. Taehyung was amongst the last to exit the classroom, wearing an exasperated face when he walked out of the door.

‘What happened? Why so tense?’ Ash asked.

‘Trelawney held me back, wanting to make a prediction of the match,’ Taehyung rolled his eyes.

‘And?’ Laura asked.

‘Do you really believe in her predictions?’ Ash asked disbelievingly. ‘Don't believe anything she says,’

‘Well. I don't want to,’ Taehyung said. ‘But she said I should be careful,’

‘You don't need a prediction for that. It’s obvious,’ Ash rolled her eyes.

‘Are you confident about playing today?’ Laura asked.

Taehyung gulped, nodding, ‘As confident as I can manage to be. One moment we all feel pumped after Hobi gives us a speech. Next moment I am a nervous wreck. This is my first match. What will happen? What if I make a mistake?’

‘I was nervous like you before my first match as well,’ Ash said. ‘You will feel nervous till you sit on your broom and fly into the sky. But once you are up, forget everything and just put your head in the game. Ok?’

Taehyung nodded, tried to smile so that he felt more confident and went to his common room to change. The rest of the team had already gone to the pitch. As soon as he stepped out, he found Jimin and Jungkook waiting for him. Taehyung held his Quidditch robes in his hands but his face was a nervous wreck like he’ll throw up right now.

‘I'll be fine?’ Tae asked them, eyebrows contorted.

‘100% fine,’ Jungkook smiled at him. ‘I know you are capable,’

‘Seriously, don't worry,’ Jimin said. ‘Even if you lose, so what? It's more important that you play, and have fun when you play,’

Taehyung nodded but still had an unsure face.

‘Go on, your team is waiting,’ Jungkook said. ‘Stop lingering around and thinking too much,’

They watched their younger friend go out to the field, their hearts swelling with pride. The boy looked taller and broader in his quidditch uniform.

‘He’s grown so much,’ Jimin said.

‘Yeah…. when will you grow though?’ Jungkook sniggered and Jimin sent a shower of punches at him.

‘Yaaah! That hurts!’ Jungkook rubbed his arm where Jimin had hit him.

‘I might be smaller than you but I'm stronger than you ok?’ Jimin said.

‘Jiminnie is so tiny,’ Jungkook started singing a tune while he continued to smirk mischievously at the Slytherin. ‘So freakin tiny,’

Jimin lunged at him and Jungkook ran the other way, stopping only when he reached the other end of the corridor. He looked back at Jimin who had his fists raised, a mock anger on his face, yelling ‘Jeon Jungkoook!!’

‘I'm going to get changed for the match,’ Jungkook said to him. ‘See you at the stands! Jin is supposed to reserve the best seats for us!’

He reached his common room and headed to his usual desk to keep his books and parchment. As he set his bag down on the table, he noticed something peeking out from between one of his notebooks, it's bulge visible over the cover. He flipped the book open and saw two Blueberry lollipops. His lips instantly pulled into a smile.

 _Who would’ve…._ He wondered when he heard a tinkling sound like a little bell. He looked down to see his kitten with a blue collar around his neck. Jungkook picked him up and saw that the collar had a tiny bell on it.

‘This is new!’ He said to the kitten. ‘Who is gifting you all these things?’

He realized that collar was not an ordinary one. Because he used to keep losing Blueberry, Laura had told him, rather scolded him, to get a tracking collar. If he held the compass and spoke the pet’s name, he’ll hear this bell ring from wherever he is and the compass will point him towards Blueberry.

There was something bursting inside him, like fireworks. Was it really Laura who brought him this for Blueberry? And his favourite lollipop? Who else could it be? Was this an unspoken apology for yelling at him?

He stopped a few juniors and asked them who had kept all this on his desk but no one knew. His impatience and excitement was overflowing. He couldn't keep the grin out of his face even though he didn't know for sure who had done this. He ran out in excitement, hoping to find someone who he could ask.

*

Namjoon entered the Hufflepuff quidditch tent to which the whole team started mockingly creating a noise.

‘Opponents have sent a spy!’ Bogum said, jumping in front of the game board and spreading his arms across it, pretending to hide the game plan.

‘That's a doodle of you throwing the bludger at Snape,’ Namjoon said chuckling. ‘Great strategy,’ 

‘What brings a Gryffindor here at this time? Aren't you prepping your team?’

‘Jin is doing that. I'm here to wish Tae,’ Namjoon said. He motioned Taehyung to step out of the tent for a moment and Taehyung followed him.

‘How are you?’ Namjoon asked, keeping his hand on the back of the younger’s neck. At the rate he was growing, Namjoon felt he’ll outgrow the head boy by next year.

‘Trying to repeat Ash and Jimin’s advice in my head over and over again,’ Taehyung said.

‘Are you worried? About… your powers?’

‘Of course I am,’ Taehyung breathed out. ‘I don't want to put anyone in danger,’

‘I had a talk with Dumbledore,’ Namjoon said. ‘I asked how you were doing and he said he was quite confident in you,’

‘You spoke to Dumbledore?’

‘You told me to look out for you, and I'm more than happy to,’ Namjoon said giving his warm dimpled smile. ‘You are like my little brother. I want to be there for you, help you in any way possible,’

‘Thank you,’ Taehyung said in a small voice.

‘I asked Dumbledore if I can come to your training as well, if that is ok with you,’ Namjoon said. ‘If you are not ok with something I'm doing you can tell me without any hesitation. I promise it won't create any tension between us,’

‘I'll be glad if you are there. At times I feel like I'm struggling alone. Dumbledore is great but… the support of a friend is different,’

‘Then I'll be there,’ Namjoon patted his head. ‘For now, concentrate on your match, don't be worried. I hope you brought a bandana for your hair,’ Namjoon chuckled, brushing the dark bangs off the younger’s face. ‘Have fun ok? And wish Hobi good luck,’

‘I will,’ Taehyung smiled as he nodded and Namjoon left for the audience stands. ‘As soon as he gets here. I don’t know what’s taking the captain so long,’

Hoseok almost stumbled out of his common room in a hurry. Trelawney had held him back for some unnecessary predictions as well, hoping her seeing skills would guide the players. Robe in one hand and boots in another, he ran towards the grounds in his jersey and shorts.

‘Hobi!’ A hand pulled him into the empty clubroom and it was only after he was pushed against the wall did he realise what had happened. Yoongi stood close in front of him, dressed in yellow as well and giving him a gummy smile. Hoseok was a sight to behold in his sleeveless yellow jersey.

‘Yoon! I was wondering where you ran off to after class! Aren’t you gonna wish me good luck-’

Yoongi grabbed the front of Hoseok’s jersey and kissed him urgent and deep, mouth pushing against his. Hoseok’s lips parted, taking Yoongi’s in and his hands left whatever they were holding, instead grabbing onto to Yoongi, pulling him flush against himself.

‘Wanted to wish you good luck properly,’ Yoongi said once their wet lips separated. ‘You know what they say, kisses hold a lot of well wishes,’

Hoseok giggled, knowing Yoongi had just made that up, ‘Is that so? And you look cute in yellow,’

‘Mmhhmm,’ Yoongi kissed his jaw line, slowly moving towards his neck. His hands caressed Hoseok’s naked arms, feeling how firm his muscles were. He gripped them, massaging lightly and his mouth sucked on the captain’s neck. Hoseok closed his eyes with a sigh, he could feel himself lose his mind under the touch of Yoongi’s tongue.

‘I need to… focus… focus on the match y’know,’ Hoseok almost purred.

‘Mmm… I’m just… filling you a lot of good luck,’ Yoongi chuckled and lightly sucked on Hoseok’s adam apple as he gulped. Hoseok’s hands grabbed Yoongi’s ass and lifted him up in his arms. The Slytherin bit his lower lip, feeling Hoseok’s biceps flex at that. Yoongi looked down at the other, into his dilated brown eyes.

‘A last one before I go,’ Hoseok whispered on Yoongi’s lips and he obliged, cupping his face and giving him a deep, lasting kiss.

*

‘All good J-Hope?’ Bogum asked the captain you entered with extremely messy copper hair.

‘J-Hope?’ Emina asked. The Ravenclaw head girl was all in yellow, looking ridiculously fluorescent.

‘During the practices Taehyung started calling him J-Hope,’ Bogum said.

‘Coz he is Hufflepuff’s hope,’ Taehyung stood and proclaimed like he was reading a royal decree. ‘He is our hope. Because of him, we practice well and are not pulled down by failures. He fills us with the promise of a better tomorrow! Jung Hoseok, is our hope!’

‘J-Hope!’ The rest of the team chanted, pumping their fists into the air. Hoseok looked clearly embarrassed as he hid his face.

‘You guys are too much,’ he said.

‘Ok, come out soon,’ Taehyung said to him. ‘I think Gryffindor’s almost ready.’

The Captain adjusted his Quidditch robes. ‘ I'm ready. Do I look fierce?’ He asked, making a proud pose. ‘I need to match up to the lions,’

‘They should be shaking even if you go on the field with sleepy eyes,’ Emina said. ‘You are the player of the entire school,’

‘Ohkay let's do this,’ he breathed deep and started to walk out of the tent.

He took his broom in hand and walked out of the dim tent into the blinding afternoon light of the Quidditch pitch. The deafening cheer of the audience hit his ears and he felt an overwhelming sense of exhilaration. Everyone was excited to see the reigning player of 4 consecutive years back on the field. The Gryffindors felt the pressure as well. They had gone out of their way to make sure their cheering didn't lack. The whole block of gryffindor seats were right in front of him. They shimmered blindingly red, banners of all the players lining the top stands and wands shooting a roaring golden lion into the sky.

‘Oh wow,’ Hoseok said, mesmerised by the Gryffindors. ‘Well they beat us in cheerleading for sure,’

‘Look around,’ Taehyung said.

Hoseok’s eyes travelled from the Gryffindors in front of him to the more or less neutral Ravenclaws and then to 2 whole blocks of yellow. The moment he turned, he heard a booming scream of ‘J-Hooooooooope!!!!’ His eyes widened realising who's voice it was. He saw Min Yoongi, standing on the ledge of the stands and yelling his name to the whole stadium. Vanessa cautiously held the end of his pants, expecting him to fall over any moment. She was in yellow as well. Next to them Ash and Laura held a huge banner of Taehyung. Lee, his prefect, was with them, holding the massive Hufflepuff flag, her body swaying with the weight of it. More than half of the Slytherins were in yellow, cheering for the Hufflepuffs, following suit with their two prefects and Quidditch captain. It was something never seen before.

On Yoongi’s count, all of them screamed out J-Hope again and it was like the loudest thunder they had ever heard, drowning out the Gryffindors.

‘Guess that name is really sticking,’ Taehyung smiled wide at Hoseok. He looked at his teammates who looked totally pumped to own the match. But Gryffindors weren't that easily defeated. No one matched the red players’ spirit. They would go on even with a broken arm and leg and right now, Charlie Weasley the captain and the rest of his team looked extremely determined and ferocious. And they had heard the new Gryffindor keeper- Oliver Wood, was the best their team had seen in years.

‘Welcome everyone to the second match of the year!’ Jin’s voice boomed over them all. ‘Looks like the two houses or should I say three houses have put in everything to cheer for their team. It’s unbelievable that half of the Slytherin stands are gleaming yellow! The lions look ready to win! Will Hufflepuff hold their ground as they are ferociously attacked? We have two new players this time! Can we hear it for our Oliver Wood and Kim Taehyung!’

The audience again erupted in deafening cheers. Laura shot a spark from her wand which burst like fireworks, forming ‘TAEHYUNG’ in the sky.

Jungkook reached the Ravenclaw stands, lollipop in mouth.

‘Jungkook! The match is about to start!’ Sierra and Yugyeom scooted to make space for him.

‘Tae’s first match! I’m so excited!’ Sierra’s eyes sparkled at Jungkook. ‘Did you meet him before he left?’

‘Yeah,’ Jungkook said but his eyes weren’t on Sierra. He looked at Taehyung and smiled when he saw his friend looked confident on the broom. Then he was scanned through the crowd.  _Where could Laura be?_ All he saw was a block of yellow people.

The players shook hands and the two teams flew up with Madam Hooch.

‘Ready?’ Hooch asked the two captains, looking from one to the other. Charlie and Hoseok nodded at her, and then looked at each other with fiery eyes. The shrill ring of the whistle resonated throughout the field as everyone saw the Quaffle being thrown into the sky. Jungkook saw the red ball rise up above his head till a blur of yellow flew past him with the force of a storm.

‘And within seconds Jung Hoseok has the quaffle! He’s dodging the Gryffindor chasers and passes it to William! William’s going for it… YESSS!!! WOOD BLOCKS THE THROW!’

‘You can't cheer for your own house if you are the commentator Jin,’ Mcgonagall reminded him.

‘It's Gryffindor’s first match Professor! You can't expect me not to!’ Jin retorted and Mcgonagall rolled her eyes.

‘Hey,’ Jungkook pulled Yugyeom’s arm. ‘Let me borrow those omniculors,’

Yugyeom quickly handed him the device since Jungkook was practically snatching it from his hand. Jungkook held them up to his eyes and scanned the field.

‘The Quaffle is to the right,’ Sierra said.

‘I know,’ he replied, not bothering to turn to where the game’s action was the thickest and his eyes found what he was looking for. Amongst the yellow, Laura sat with Ash, holding a banner for Taehyung.

‘Here,’ he handed the omniculors back to Yugyeom. ‘I'll see you in a bit,’

‘What? Where are you going?’ Sierra called back behind him.

‘To the Hufflepuffs. To cheer for Tae,’ and he vanished down the steps.

Jungkook pushed through all the people to stand beside the person his eyes had been searching for all afternoon and as soon as he saw her, his mouth blurted out-

‘You look funny in yellow,’ he said to Laura who rolled her eyes with a sigh.

‘Why are you here? Go stand by your house. Your prefect is clearly missing you,’ Laura said, watching Sierra look for Jungkook from across them.

‘I came to make you jealous,’

‘Jealous of what?’

‘Someone's been gifting me these,’ Jungkook held the lollipop in front of her face. ‘Any guesses who?’

‘How should I know. Don't disturb me, let me watch the match,’

‘Of course you don't know,’ Jungkook said in a soft voice and turned his head back to the field. Jin had just cracked a Gryffindor joke and they could hear his windshield wiper laugh all over the pitch with McGonagall shaking her head, sitting below him.

Jungkook’s pleasant scent was filling Laura’s head. She hated that she liked it, almost to the point that she wondered if she could bottle it up and keep it beside her forever.

She glanced at Jungkook slightly. He had his fists in the air, cheering the players. He was happy, eyes crinkling as he screamed in joy and Laura felt her own lips pull up slightly.

Jungkook looked at her in that moment and she looked away, completely startled.

‘What? What are you lookin at?’ Jungkook questioned her.

‘Who are you supposed to be supporting? Are you like the rest of your house? Waiting for the score to turn into one of the team’s favour and then start cheering?’

‘I'm cheering for Hufflepuff of course!’

‘Worst cheerleader ever. You are in all blue,’

‘Alright then let me hold Tae’s banner,’ his hands made a grab for it.

‘No!’ Laura retorted with big eyes, pulling the banner away from him. Her purple really stood out in the yellow. ‘I made it! I'm holding it!’

‘Give me or I'll bite you!’ His eyes glinted mischievously, making her catch her breath and she felt the same craving felt from his scent heightened at those words, the way they escaped his lips with a rumble.

‘I need payback anyways,’ he grinned, tongue pressing on his cheek. But Laura wouldn't submit so easily. She raised her eyebrows.

‘I’d like to see you try. I told you, you bite me and I bury you in your grave,’

Jungkook held her gaze, unwilling to submit as well. Laura smirked and then turned her attention back on the match. Had she challenged him? Both wondered that. Their mouths worked faster than their brain nowadays, both were unsure of what they spoke to each other half the time.

Laura's hand, consciously or subconsciously came to her neck, pushing her dark hair on to one side. She seemed unaware of what she was doing as her eyes and her concentration was on the players. She stood there, inches away from Jungkook, her pale neck showing under the lazily draped yellow scarf. Jungkook gulped. This was his weakness. Her slanting neck made him want to touch it, feel how soft it was, run his fingers across the length of it and watch her react. He wished everyone around them would disappear so that he could lean in closer, touch his lips to her supple skin. She would taste as delicious as she smelled.

‘I hope the bunny knows that a dragon can burn you,’ Jin’s voice snapped him out of his reverie. He looked at the faculty stands, completely shook, eyes as wide as saucers.

‘Somebody was complaining a lot about not getting a seat in the top booth, but looks like that person is extremely content right now,’ Jin continued while the audience looked around as to who he was talking about. Jungkook was red in his cheeks. He knew Jin was talking about him. Had Jin seen everything?

Jungkook instantly moved away from Laura, suddenly too interested in helping Lee hold the Hufflepuff flag upright.

‘Here, you must be tired holding it,’ he said as he took the flag pole from her.

‘Thanks Kookie!’ Lee said, adjusting her glasses as her hands got free. ‘Yeah my arms were starting to ache,’

‘You should've called me sooner to help!’ Jungkook was smiling at her as Laura wondered why he had moved away from her. His scent was fading away and Laura slowly took a step closer to him.

‘Looks like the dragon doesn't want to burn the bunny,’ Jin said and this time Laura heard him properly.  _Was he watching all that was happening?_

‘Hey,’ Jungkook heard Emina’s voice behind him and turned to see her speaking to Laura.

‘I kept the candy on Jungkoo-’ but Laura slammed her palm on Emina’s mouth, eyes wide, motioning her to look behind Laura, but the damage was done. Jungkook was smirking and shaking his head with a sigh.

‘Hey Laura!’ A big figure pushed through everyone to come stand next to the Slytherin prefect. Graham Montague was in yellow as well, his blonde hair reflecting the color with a golden hue and Jungkook’s eyes instantly caught his proximity to Laura. Mostly everyone knew Montague had a crush on his prefect. They had been friends since before Hogwarts as their families knew each other. To Jungkook, it felt like these Slytherin pure bloods had a separate world of their own.

Montague was not an inexpressive person. From the interactions he had briefly witnessed till now, Montague never lost a chance to show off or compliment Laura, which now made Jungkook insecure. Montague got to spend way more time with her that he did. He had never seen Laura reciprocate to Montague’s feelings but now he was scared… what if one day she just might?

‘Montague!’ Laura looked surprised seeing him in yellow. ‘I didn't expect you to support the Hufflepuffs!’

‘Well, they are a good team. And we all want the Gryffindors defeated. Hey yellow suits you!’

‘Oh does it?’ Laura was surprised again. According to Jungkook she looked  _funny_ in yellow. ‘Thanks Montague,’ she made it a point that Jungkook heard that so that he knew his opinion was invalid.

‘Yeah, you look cute!’ Montague never failed to take the conversation forward in the direction he wanted. That really made Jungkook’s stomach churn on itself. He shuffled his feet, moving closer to Laura. Montague looked at him, surprised he would be here next to his ‘arch nemesis’.

‘Jeon, surprised to see you here.’ He said, moving closer to Laura as well.

‘Why are you surprised? Rather I didn't expect you to be supporting Hufflepuff,’ Jungkook replied, feigning disinterest. Laura felt both of them trying to crowd her personal space and moved away to stand with Emina and Ash while Jungkook and Montague seemed to be having some sort of showdown with their eyes.

‘I'm sure your housemates are missing you Jeon… you all the way here in the Slytherin stands,’ Montague said, eyes back on the game.

‘Thanks for your concern Montague, even though no one really asked for it,’ Jungkook replied, eyes on the field as well. Montague’s jaw tightened. He folded his arms over his chest, standing at full height, trying to show Jungkook that he was superior to him, physically if not intellectually. Jungkook resisted rolling his eyes. He may not look like but he knew he was capable of tackling Montague to the ground. Jungkook tried not to let Montague get to him. Of course it was bothering him that he lacked a few things which Montague had… one of them being his connection to Laura’s life. Insecurities never hit Jungkook the way they did now.

They were distracted by Jin’s wooing and looked just in time to see Gryffindor score the first goal of the match.

‘AND ITS 1-0 FOR GRYFFINDOR! SANDERS YOU DID IT! YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD!’

‘SEOKJIN!’ Mcgonagall’s shrill voice reached Jin’s ears and he looked down to see her glaring at him with pursed lips.

‘If everyone can just excuse my last few words before Professor Mcgonagall expels me. And the Quaffle is with Hufflepuff's Watson now! Wow the Hufflepuffs look hella coordinated with their passes. They know just where to throw and were to fly to catch it! It's flawless!’

The Hufflepuffs were passing the quaffle to each other but the Gryffindors were affectingly blocking them from proceeding ahead. For a while the yellow players were stuck at midfield, having to throw the quaffle back to their side and try to break the defense again.

‘Didn't expect less when NamJin trained them,’ Hoseok said to the team player next to him. ‘Tim, aim the bludgers good,’

Tim, his bulky beater nodded and set off to find the bludgers. They needed that to break through this impenetrable defence.

Hoseok looped around Gryffindor’s Watson who has holding the Quaffle and before they knew it, the Quaffle had disappeared from Watson’s hand, into Hoseok’s and he was already flying ahead. The Gryffindors lunged forward to block him but a bludger came hurtling at them at full force. The Gryffindors dived away from the Bludger’s collision path but Hoseok didn't change course. He turned his body around, going upside down on the broom as the bludger went past him from where his head was a moment ago. Hoseok flew like a roller coaster, turning every angle on the axis of his broom and before Woods could anticipate it, he took the shot, Quaffle through the centre hoop.

The stadium roared for him and Hoseok did a mini break dance on the broom till Gryffindors took form again.

‘ITS NOW A TIE! GRYFFINDOR GET YOUR ASS MOVING!’ Jin said.

Gryffindor continued to display a tough defence and Oliver’s blocks were absolutely flawless. Hoseok didn't have many tricks left up his sleeve. One of his chasers got hit badly by a bludger and fell down. Hoseok instantly flew down, calling for a time out.

‘Marcus,’ he lifted the boy up. ‘Are you ok?’

‘Don't worry, let's keep playing,’ but Marcus winced as he moved his arm to get his broom up.

‘You are in pain. You can't play like this!’

‘Yes we can JHope! Injuries will heal, but I won't be able to sit still if you send me back to the stands!’

‘I can't let you be in pain,’

But Marcus was already mounting his broom.

‘Seriously, don't stop me from playing captain! We will win this,’

Hoseok looked at his team mate’s determination, feeling immensely touched. He would've done the same if he had been hit.

‘Alright let's go,’ Hoseok patted him on the back and both flew back to the game.

As the game resumed, Hoseok couldn't help but keep a careful eye on Marcus and the rest of his players. He hated it when any of them got hurt because they literally would not quit and keep playing in pain for their captain.

The game was now a tie 40-40 between the two houses. The snitch was still nowhere to be seen as the two seekers circled like hawks above everyone else.

‘Looks like people have made some friendly bets for this game. The Gryffindors have requested me to read some aloud so that it motivates the players who seem to be playing like grandmas. YAH! CHARLIE! GAZE AT KATIE LATER! GET THE QUAFFLE WOULD YOU?’

‘Jin you can't yell at the players!’ Mcgonagall scolded him from the seat below.

‘Professor!’ He didn't bother moving his mouth away from the microphone. ‘They need a smack on the back of their heads! They let the lead go!’

‘Kim Seokjin I will revoke your position as a commentator,’

‘Professor, you already know they will reinstate me by popular vote so don't go through the trouble of doing that. They love me!’

The audience cheered for Seokjin, chanting his name and he threw a flying kiss at them. Mcgonagall shook her head and sat down on her seat as Dumbledore chuckled. A rose came flying from somewhere and fell on Jin’s lap.

‘Ah thank you, thank you,’ he said, waving the rose which resulted in more flowers being thrown his way, falling on top of Mcgonagall and Flitwick’s heads.

‘So back to the bets,’ Jin continued. ‘Alexis says he will give his Godric Gryffindor chocolate frog cards to Lenny if Lenny scores within the next 5 mins. C’mon Lenny do it for the ultimate card!’

‘Professor Hohen has promised his next period free to whoever scores next,’

‘If Hufflepuff wins the Slytherin Prefect will take the Hufflepuff captain on a date to Quality Quidditch Supplies,’

‘Gryff- wait what?’ Jin paused.

Hoseok almost did a backflip out of shock at hearing the last bet. His ears went red, and not from the adrenaline. Everyone in his team was wooing at him and his eyes darted around to find Yoongi who was punching Jungkook at this moment.

‘You did this didn’t you!’ He punched his arm hard.

‘Hey he needs motivation! What's better than this?’ Jungkook retorted.

‘THE SNITCH!’ They heard Ash as she leaped forward, head towards the sky. Taehyung and Isaak the Gryffindor seeker were seen hurtling through the sky like two bright ribbons. Everyone stood up to cheer in excitement.

‘The snitch is like in a frenzy today. I've never seen it move around this crazily,’ Jungkook said.

The two seekers dived down following the snitch. They were at level with the audience stands as they circled the field.

‘Get in!’ Ash yelled as a precaution since the Seekers were dangerously close to the ledge of the stands. Just as the Seekers flew past them, they all felt a shiver go through them and when Ash breathed out, her breath was misty. She looked with concern at her friends who reflected her thoughts. Laura cast a look towards Jin, who’s smile faltered seeing what was happening. The people around them were rubbing their hands together at the sudden chill. Jin looked at Hoseok, who luckily caught his eye at the right time.

The snitch was lost but Taehyung didn't slow down. He rocketed up into the sky, beyond the clouds, away from everyone because he knew what had happened. There was frost building up on the handle of his broom where his grip was tight. The air around him turned misty as he felt the humidity turn to ice on his cheeks.

‘Taehyung!’ He heard his name being called from behind. He slowed down and Hoseok flew to his front. The older was shivering in the cold.

‘It's ok,’ Hoseok was trying to console him. ‘Just, calm your heart, it's alright,’

‘I didn't mean to…’ Taehyung was definitely scared. ‘I… it just happened,’

‘I know… don’t worry. It's all ok,’ Hoseok extended his hand to place it on Taehyung’s on the broom handle. ‘You can control it. Remember your training. I'm sure you can do it,’

Hoseok’s hand felt warm on Taehyung’s. He felt his ragged breaths slowly calm down. Taehyung looked up to see Hoseok smiling at him, despite the shivering cold. He could do it… Hobi believed in him, he must believe in himself as well.

‘Reign it in,’ Hoseok said. ‘It's all in your control,’

Taehyung closed his eyes, trying to do what he had been doing in Dumbledore’s office since the past week. When he felt the air around him go warmer, he opened his eyes to see Hoseok still smiling at him.

‘You did it! See, I told you you could,’ Hoseok said. ‘Are you ok now? Do you need a break?’

‘I'm… ok. But I'm scared to go back…’ Taehyung said, looking at the clouds below him, shrouding the view of the pitch.

‘Just take it easy. But don't quit. Or the fear will not leave you. You have to remember that you control this. If you feel it slipping away, you pause and call it back into you. I care about you having a good time, I don't care about us winning. There's no pressure Tae,’

Taehyung nodded.

‘Do you think they felt it down there? The cold?’ He asked.

‘I doubt it. I felt it only when I came near to you,’

‘Ok…. ohkay I'm ready to play,’ Taehyung said before fear came into him again and made him change his mind. ‘Let’s go,’

The two players descended down to the game, to see that Gryffindor had scored twice in their absence. Taehyung looked at Hoseok worriedly, with guilty eyes. Gryffindor managed to score because Hoseok wasn't there… it was Taehyung’s fault. But Hoseok winked and only smiled at him.

‘I said I don't care about winning. I care about all of you playing and having a good time without breaking your skulls,’ and he flew into the game to take charge of the Quaffle.

Taehyung tried to put all negative thoughts out of his mind and keep only Hoseok’s and Namjoon’s encouraging words in his head. He repeated all that they had said to him, their confidence in him as he circled the field for the snitch.

He saw something golden glint near the stands of the faculty and flew to it without missing a moment. Some heads turned to him but soon Taehyung crashed into the Gryffindor beater.

Laura’s eyes caught the foul. The Gryffindor beater had flown into Taehyung’s course on purpose because the Gryffindor seeker had not caught sight of the snitch just yet. She glanced at Madam Hooch who was keeping an eye on the Gryffindor goal posts after a small accident with the Hufflepuff beater having ‘apparently’ hit Oliver Woods when trying to deflect an incoming bludger towards one of the Hufflepuff chasers.

‘FOUL!’ Laura screamed, pointing at the Gryffindor who had just passed Taehyung, but no one heard her. She felt Jungkook come near her and yell ‘GRYFFINDOR FOUL’ again, voice magnified with the sonorous charm. He was looking at Madam Hooch and pointing at Taehyung as well.

‘It was not a foul!’ The Gryffindor beater came to argue.

‘IT WAS I SAW IT!’ Laura yelled.

‘I SAW IT TOO!’ Jungkook agreed.

‘Calm down. I would've seen it if it was a foul,’ Madam Hooch said.

But Laura and Jungkook were far from calming down.

‘ITS TAEHYUNG’S FOUL!’ One of the Gryffindor chasers came as well.

‘IT WAS NOT! HOW DARE YOU BLAME TAE!’ Laura looked like she would pounce out of the seats at the Gryffindor and Jungkook kept a precautionary hand on the ledge in front of her.

‘It was not Tae’s fault! Madam Hooch, all of us saw it!’ He said.

‘Well I-’ but all of them were distracted by a sudden blur of yellow as Taehyung dived down, followed by the Gryffindor seeker. They saw the two seekers wrestle, a blur of yellow and red against the blue sky as the rose up from the dive.

They circled the pitch like a rocket, their robes almost whipping the heads of the audience as everyone stared open mouthed. As they wrestled side by side to push the other out of the chase for the snitch, a bludger came on its own at them, hitting one of the brooms right at the rear. The Seekers where sent spiralling in opposite directions as both clutched on tight to the broom. It would be a several hundred feet fall if one of them lost grip. Everyone had their hearts in their mouth.

The Seekers found some balance after spinning like a top for a while. The snitch was lost for now until Taehyung’s eyes caught it right ahead of him and raced for it. The Gryffindor seeker was opposite him, closer to the snitch and flew towards it as soon as he saw Taehyung move. The snitch right in between them as they rocketed upwards from opposite sides, Jin almost closed his eyes, dreading the impact both will make on each other. This game was certainly going to end without the snitch caught and the Seekers in the infirmary for a week.

‘PULL BACK!’ Jungkook screamed at Taehyung but who couldn’y hear at that height with the wind rushing along your ears. Taehyung could see the snitch but it was flying even further up and now he saw the Gryffindor seeker in his vision as well. No, he had to make this happen. Taehyung gripped on his broom, pushing himself up to the upper end of it. He had to maintain his equilibrium somehow. His hand outstretched, he was near the golden ball, but so were the hands of the Gryffindor. Taehyung was going to take a risk…. but he was not going to lose, not when he was this close.

‘HOSEOK!!!’ He yelled and jumped out of his broom, legs kicking at the foot brackets of his broom. He was midair, fingers clasping around the snitch as he felt the other seeker swerve away from colliding into him and then, Taehyung was falling.

Falling 300 feet through cold empty air.

He closed his eyes in the free fall. He knew he won't fall. He won't fall because-

He felt arms envelope him and a familiar yell of ‘you bloody idiot’ in his ears. Hoseok had dived down as soon as Taehyung’s body crossed his plane of sight. And now both were heading towards the ground.

‘I can't pull up!’ Hoseok yelled in his ear.

‘Slide! Tuck and roll!’ Taehyung yelled back over the wind and he felt his body turn as both rolled over the sand, several feet until their momentum finally slowed. Taehyung was smiling with his back on the ground as Hoseok hoisted himself over him.

‘WHY DID YOU DO THAT! YOU ARE-’

But Hoseok’s yelling was cut by Taehyung thrusting his fist in the air above them, the golden snitch clearly visible for all to see. The field erupted in cheer again as Jin yelled on top of his voice to be heard as he made his announcement.

‘AND HUFFLEPUFF HAVE WON THE MATCH! KIM TAEHYUNG HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH ON HIS FIRST EVER MATCH! HUFFLEPUFF WINS BY 50 POINTS! TAE YOU BLOODY GAVE US A HEART ATTACK YOU LUCKY BASTARD YOU! NO I CAN’T WATCH MY TONGUE PROFESSOR BLOODY I THOUGHT I’LL DIE FROM THIS IDIOT’S ANTICS! MY POOR HEART!’

Hoseok and Taehyung stood up, holding their hands up in the air, waving to the crowd. The rest of the players landed next to them and they all hugged each other. This was followed by the Gryffindor team coming to congratulate the players.

‘I did not expect that,’ Charlie said, eyes on Taehyung in wild admiration. ‘I totally did not expect that. Wow Taehyung, that was the most unpredictable thing. I guess we have two monsters in Hufflepuff now,’

Bogum jumped over Taehyung’s back while the rest of the cheerers came running towards them from the bottom of the stands. Hoseok saw Yoongi, he was so happy he looked like he was about to cry. He opened his arms, beckoning Yoongi with his hands to come and hug him. Yoongi jumped on top of Hoseok, both now on the floor as Yoongi hugged and rolled with him on the side.

Jungkook was carrying Taehyung on his shoulders now and running around the field as Ash and Laura tried not to get hit my Taehyung’s long legs.

The Hufflepuffs headed for the victory party with Lee waving the Hufflepuff flag to lead the way towards the open lawn outside the kitchens. Everyone was invited to a Hufflepuff party and everyone possible was there, including the teachers. Madam Sprout looked extremely proud and happy. At the party, Laura finally got to congratulate Taehyung after everyone else in the world was done patting him on the back. Taehyung was ecstatic over the win, he was high on happiness, after a long time, losing all inhibitions. Laura was keeping her emotions in control, in this public surrounding but Taehyung gave her a bone crushing hug.

‘Oh my gosh I can't tell you how happy I am!’ He said. Laura felt someone press from behind as another pair of arms enveloped her till Taehyung’s shoulders.

‘Yes I am so happy!’ She heard Jungkook’s voice from behind her ear.

‘Excuse me you bunny get off me!’ She tried to push him away.

‘Tae what is squirming between us?’

‘That's Laura. Don’t mind her nagging,’

‘I’ll stomp on your foot you coconut!’ Her voice was muffled against Taehyung’s chest. Taehyung and Jungkook only giggled, tightening the hug.

‘Aw!’ They heard Jin, ready with his camera and Laura felt the flash on her eyes as she managed to push her head up to get some air.

Taehyung went to grab the camera. Laura awkwardly peered into the photograph whilst trying to punch Jungkook away but the Ravenclaw cockily dodged her fists with the comments ‘your tiny fists are like a fly to me,’

Ash was standing a little feet away from them, chuckling at the scene in front of her eyes.

‘Here,’ Namjoon handed her some firewhiskey. ‘Don't you think Jungkook and Laura… have come a long way? I think Taehyung is an important link between them. He keeps them together,’ Namjoon said.

‘Yeah… it's because of him they’ve come a long way. He was probably the one to push them,’

Suddenly there was a flash as Jin appeared next to them. There was a second flash as he took a photograph of Namjoon.

‘Jin!’ Namjoon covered his face but his dimples were apparent. ‘You know I look weird in photos,’

‘No you don't. I like this photo,’ he said, pulling out the photograph from the camera. In the photo, the lights around Namjoon reflected beautifully over his skin, giving him a golden glow. He was looking into the camera, at Jin, with soft, deep eyes, pupils dilated and a small smile creeping up his lips.

‘See, handsome,’ Jin said, holding the photograph up.

*

Hoseok was rushing up the Ravenclaw tower to look for Emina. He needed a favour from her again, the favour being borrowing the Astronomy tower keys.

He was planning to knock on the tower door and ask for a Emina but luckily he found a Ravenclaw sitting on the steps to the tower.

‘Hi, excuse me?’ He called to the blonde girl. She slowly raised her head, her frowned face coming to light.

‘Sierra! You’re back from the party already?’ He asked her. She wasn't smiling at all and looked annoyed.

‘Yeah. I came back,’ was her curt reply.

‘Do you know if Emina is in there?’ He asked.

‘No. She didn't come back to the dorm yet. Is Jungkook still… at the party?’ She asked.

‘Yeah… he's, he's with Taehyung and everyone else,’

‘Everyone else….’ Seirra said, looking away. She stood up and walked to him. ‘Hoseok, you are a good friend to Jungkook. Remind me the importance of housemates,’

‘He values his housemates Sierra!’

‘Does he? I'm starting to feel we have become his back up group. Listen, you guys are my friends too. We all have hung out many times. I like you all. But none of you have lost touch with your own housemates, have you?’

‘And what has Jungkook done?’

‘He's our prefect. I feel like he doesn't even know what's going on with the Ravenclaws. He is so busy with… I have no idea what he’s always occupied with,’ she said shaking her head. ‘He's spending too much time with people mostly disliked by the whole school. He’s losing the place of importance and command he held among his housemates,’

‘People disliked by the school. Just take the name Sierra. You mean the Min-Dracwyns, don't you?’

‘Yes,’ Sierra raised her eyebrows. ‘Yes I mean them,’

‘You should be discouraging this kind of differentiation Sierra, not encouraging it,’

‘Why should I encourage something I think is harmful for my house? Either tell me the truth about those Slytherins or don't blame me for behaving this way. Hoseok, you used to hate Min Yoongi’s guts. Jungkook hated Laura. And now it's like you’ll can't live without each other!’ Her voice had gone high and shrill, eyes bewildered.

Hoseok sensed her anger was not stemming from just the general animosity towards Slytherins. She saw Jungkook was getting closer to someone else, someone who wasn't her. Hoseok hadn't paid much thought to what had been going on between Jungkook and Sierra all these years. Yes they were good friends but Hoseok had always found Sierra a little uptight. Jungkook had a way of charming people without realising it himself. He was naive that way. And it was far from impossible that Sierra would not fall for those charms after spending so much time around Jungkook.

But this hatred Sierra had started fostering needed to be put to rest. It was not healthy for anyone. He also knew that there was something definitely brewing between Laura and Jungkook. Whether it was just friendship or it could be something more than that, it was difficult to tell right now. But Sierra was neither patient, nor forgiving. If it turned out that Jungkook had indeed grown feelings for Laura, no one knew how Sierra would react to it, except that she won't accept it with good grace.

‘Sierra maybe you feel like this because you haven't spent any time with them. I am with Yoongi coz, now, I know him. And neither he nor Laura are bad people,’

Sierra scoffed, shaking her head.

‘Give it a chance. And I'm saying this prefect to prefect, stop harbouring this animosity towards other students no matter who they are. We need to be above all this. Rather than letting Jungkook’s  _importance_  lessen among students, you should correct them and tell them that everyone should be as open minded as Jungkook. If you are truly his friend, you’ll understand,’ He said and left, leaving a flustered Sierra tapping her feet impatiently on the stone stones.

Hoseok shook his head to get that rather unexpectedly intense conversation out of his head and focus on the task at hand.

After some more searching, Hoseok finally found Emina and soon enough he was opening the door to the Astronomy tower. He stumbled in with Yoongi giggling behind him.

‘Sorry, no blanket fortress this time,’ Hoseok said, sitting on the floor with Yoongi. ‘But I wanted to spend some time alone with you,’

‘We could snuggle under this sweater,’ Yoongi held out his arms, ‘It’s big and comfy,’

‘Your sweater would stretch out,’

But the straight lipped expression Yoongi wore told Hoseok that the older didn’t give a damn about it, so Hoseok pushed himself into the sweater, wrapping his arms around Yoongi’s slim frame and Yoongi put his sleeved arms around Hoseok as well. Hoseok rubbed his nose against Yoongi’s, grinning with overflowing happiness.

‘You were amazing on the field today,’ Yoongi said. ‘I almost had my heart in my mouth when you went upside down,’

‘You had my heart doing flips with the way you made half of the school cheer for Hufflepuff. I felt special… thank you for that,’ The apples of Hoseok’s cheeks glowed pink, just like Yoongi’s. ’Remember how you used to love riling me up before matches?’ Hoseok asked. ‘We’ll face each other soon on the field… I wonder how it will be… us playing against each other,’

‘Well, just don’t distract me too much Jung Hoseok. I’m weak for you,’

‘And what would I possibly do to distract you?’

‘I dunno, not wear your robe? Wear your hair pushed back in a bandana like today,’

‘Mhhmm, and?’ Hoseok came closer, kissing his lips once, a strong peck.

‘And… when you stick your tongue out after scoring-’ he was cut off by Hoseok’s kiss again, this time hungrier, lips parting to taste the other.

‘And what else?’ Hoseok’s voice had dropped several octaves, eyes on Yoongi’s lips.

‘And…’ Yoongi’s mind was befuddled. He knew Hoseok was doing this just to enjoy seeing Yoongi worked up. Yoongi couldn’t think anymore, he grabbed Hoseok’s face and kissed him. ‘And let’s stop talking,’

Hoseok pushed Yoongi down with the heated kiss, hands running up and down the older’s torso. Their tongues found a natural rhythm now, working with the tug of their lips. He pulled back to look at Yoongi in the eye, asking a question without words as his hands wandered at the hem of Yoongi’s shirt. When he saw that the want in Yoongi was still strong, slowly, he slipped a hand in, feeling Yoongi’s soft and smooth skin for the first time. Hoseok almost let out a shiver, closing his eyes and kissing Yoongi’s jaw. Delicately, Hoseok’s fingers roamed over Yoongi’s chest, feeling the dip, circling the navel, gripping the waist. Feeling Yoongi’s breaths getting faster and heavier against his palm was an exquisite feeling that Hoseok wouldn't trade for anything in the world. His hands roamed further up and Yoongi gasped when his fingers rubbed over one of his nipples.

Hoseok looked up. ‘Is this ok?’ the Hufflepuff was slightly nervous.

Yoongi bit his lower lip with a smile, ‘Everything is ok Seokie… everything,’ he cupped Hoseok’s face. ‘You don’t have to worry or hesitate. We can do whatever you want, stop whenever you want,’

‘And you? What about what you want? I don’t want to… go overboard if you don’t want to...’

‘Like I said,’ Yoongi smiled, ‘Don’t hesitate,’ Yoongi’s knees rubbed on Hoseok’s thighs, riding up and rubbing down, pulling him closer.

‘Ah fuck Yoon… if you move like that…’ Hoseok buried his head on Yoongi’s chest, mouth seeking his naked skin to suck on. Yoongi chuckled, slowly carding his fingers through Hoseok’s copper hair.

Hoseok pressed his forehead on Yoongi, ‘Right now… is good,’ He wanted his mouth to replace the hands roaming over Yoongi’s stomach, he wanted his tongue teasing those hard buds, and feel Yoongi gasp and sigh again. Hoseok wanted to  _see_  Yoongi but it was far too cold here to do more than this. Even though he wanted to do so much more, he still felt fully content right now, just having Yoongi pressed against him, those lilac eyes just gazing at him. And that’s when Hoseok realised this was definitely beyond just an attraction or admiration for the other. He felt connected to Yoongi on a deeper, farther level. And even though Hoseok had never believed in such things, now the idea of soulmates being real did not seem too irrational.

*

The Hufflepuffs were back in their dormitories. It was well past midnight and everyone had retreated to their rooms, exhausted after the match and the party but somehow Taehyung still felt wide awake. The excitement was still coursing through him like wild currents. He had caught the snitch, his team won because of him and his powers didn’t go out of hand. Taehyung had finally achieved what he wanted to since so long.

He looked to the side, at the dark glass window and found himself reflected in it, the blue of his eyes shining and remembered the woman he had met, the one with fire like hair. She had said she would speak to him again but so far, nothing. He wanted to contact her, ask her the hundred questions he had… but how would he do it?

He didn’t have an address to write a letter to, he couldn’t produce a patronus to find her and deliver his msg to her… could she apparate into Hogwarts? The visual made him think of something else, another way people travel from one fire place to another… floo network.

Taehyung sat in front of the fire place, blowing into it to re-ignite the embers into flames. The wood let out yellow sparks and a faint fire started. Taehyung fanned it further till the fire retained itself and sat back on his palms, waiting, thinking of the woman, calling her in his mind. More than 15 minutes passed and nothing happened. Taehyung was getting impatient. He started thinking about his father and how he could've hidden such a big truth from his own family. Thinking about his mother and father made him uneasy. He had wanted his family to be like the others, where the parents loved each other… but it looked like both his mother and father despised each other. Would his mother really have handed over his father to the Ministry if she knew about him?

The Ministry…

Something struck in Taehyung’s mind. The Ministry controlled the floo network. For someone living under the radar, they wouldn't show themselves on a medium where the Ministry can trace them. He stood up and went to a corner table, digging through the old discarded parchment rolls to find what he was looking for. Finally, a fat candle rolled onto the table and he caught it.

‘Incendio,’ Tae pointed his wand at the wick and lit the candle. He placed it on the table and sat in front of it, forearms splayed on the wooden surface and chin resting on it.

‘Where are you Serafin…’

The tiny flame burned bright in his eyes but he refrained from blinking, not wanting to miss any movement that might signal that the woman would appear in the flames. Just when he thought he was about to turn blind, the flame flickered and change its form. It rose up a few inches, taking a shape of a woman with curly hair.

‘It's you!’ Taehyung whispered disbelievingly. ‘You actually heard me!’

‘I told you I control fire,’ he heard the woman’s voice like she was actually there. ‘If you speak into it, I will hear it,’

‘You told me you will tell me more,’

‘Yes… and I see that you haven't told Dumbledore that you met me. Why?’

‘I… I don't know,’ Taehyung said, trying to find the right words. ‘He… he wants to help me but he doesn't understand me. He is not an Elkyre,’

‘And you think we will be able understand each other?’

‘I can hope… please I need answers to all that's happening to me. When can we meet again?’

‘I'm afraid I can't come to Hogsmeade again. It's too public. Dumbledore will soon know I am back in this continent. Till then we will have to converse like this,’

‘But we can get caught!’

‘We can get caught anywhere,’ Serafin smiled. ‘Ask me what you wanted to,’

‘Ok….’ Taehyung wrung his hands together. ‘Why are the Death Eaters after me? How can they make a philosopher's stone if they have me?’

‘Have you heard of the Prima Matter? It is what we alchemists consider to be the most perfect matter, that when constructed, will provide us with an endless cycle of energy,’

‘An endless cycle of energy? Is the philosopher’s stone the Prima Matter?’

‘No, but it is made of the Prima Matter,’

‘When you combine 4 opposite elements in harmony you get the Prima Matter,’

‘You mean…’

‘Earth, Fire, Wind, Water,’

‘But… I’m ice, not water,’ Taehyung said.

‘Do you know why your ancestor, Aquirys was the most notable Elkyre? It’s because water is the most versatile element. It has forms in air, it’s fluid, it’s solid and strong in ice. Taehyung, you have the power of all three… you are the strongest elkyre among all of us... maybe the strongest wizard amongst all,’

Taehyung blinked, her words unfathomable to him.

‘That’s… that’s not possible… I’m not that powerful, I can’t be,’

‘That’s what the world has told you. But you are… you can control three elements in your palm Taehyung, just imagine the power of that!

‘I couldn’t ever do that,’

‘You can! And… there’s someone who can teach you how to do that,’

‘You?’

‘Not me… I may have the power of fire but there’s someone much more knowledgeable than me, the wisest soul I’ve ever met in my 100 years of life. Our leader, he will help you,’

‘Who’s your leader?’

‘He’s the only one who knows how to create the Philosopher’s Stone. He’s the only one who has ever done it in the history of humanity,’

Taehyung’s eyes grew wider as he stared with overflowing interest, hanging on to every word of Serafin’s.

‘Our leader’s name… is Abraxas,’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN!!!!!
> 
> And, poll time (This was the 'conflict regarding a ship' I was referring to on twitter)
> 
> You can take the poll on twitter [here!](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1118230772735827968?s=20). If you don't have twitter, you can give your answers in a comment -
> 
> I want to know what you all want to see out of these -  
> 1\. A jealous Kook  
> 2\. A jealous Laura  
> 3\. Both being jealous babies
> 
> (Blame Jungkook covering We Don't Talk Anymore in that breathy voice for my conflict here)


	14. Touches & Gazes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :_) Mayhaps I should put in a warning for upcoming angst and really slooowww burn... *pls don't kill me for this*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Akira Senju - Fullmetal Alchemist Main Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJix4fIizus&ab_channel=ShinyKyuukon) _

‘Our leader’s name… is Abraxas. He’s the one who brought us all together,’

‘But…’ Taehyung blinked, wondering if his facts were right, ‘Abraxas was killed by my ancestor in the Red War then how-’

‘Do you really think you can kill someone who holds the stone of immortality?’ Serafin chuckled. ‘Abraxas has always been alive… in one form or another,’

‘What do you mean in one form or another?’

‘He was on the brink of dying when your ancestor cornered him. But his soul managed to escape. His soul has lived on for more than 800 years. He-’

There was a sudden gush of strong wind which blasted the windows open. The flame instantly wiped out, leaving the common room in darkness. The wind swirled around Taehyung as he covered his face with his hands at the biting force of the wind, howling around the room. Parchments, quills, everything swirled like a hurricane and then all suddenly fell to a frozen stillness. The only sound was his own heavy, foggy breathes and then he heard someone else breathing behind him. The gushes of wind instantly reminded him of a painful memory… and he had no doubt about who was standing behind him now.

‘Father…’ he whispered, too afraid to turn around and look at the man who had betrayed his mother.

‘Don't listen to her Taehyung,’ his father's voice was deep, much like his own. ‘Don't trust her,’

Taehyung clenched his fists and finally turned. His eyes travelled from the floor to the man’s dusty boots, his dark grey ragged woollen cloak and his hooded face. He could see only a square jaw beneath the hood, lips identical to his, a dark stubble growing on his chin.

‘Show yourself,’ Taehyung spoke firmly, amazed at his own courage. The man slowly put his hood down, revealing the blue eyes that Taehyung had inherited.

‘Don't trust her Taehyung,’ he looked earnest.

‘Why?’

‘She only wants you for her own gain. To create the stone,’

‘Same as you. You were ready to steal me away from my mother,’

‘You don't understand. She hid you from me! I had a son I never knew about, my own blood!’

‘And you decide to kill my mother to take me away for your alchemic ventures?’ Taehyung didn't realize but he was screaming now. His eyes stung with tears of rage.

‘I never tried to kill Jiyeon,’

‘DON’T SPEAK HER NAME!’ Taehyung roared and Martaeus backed away from him a little. The windows had frosted, so had the floor. On the table, the water in a jug froze and exploded, shards of glass and ice shooting in every direction.

They both heard heavy and rapid footsteps on the wooden stairs of the dormitory.

‘Taehyung! Is that you?’ Hoseok’s voice echoed through the corridor and the older froze at the sight in the common room. There was another breeze on Taehyung’s cheeks and he looked back at Martaeus but there was no one there.

‘Who was that?’ Hoseok was aghast. ‘Tae are you ok?’

But Taehyung wasn't ok. We was breathing hard, fists still clenched, a tear frozen on his cheek.

‘My father…’

‘You’re father was here?’

Taehyung slowly nodded and watched Hoseok take his wand out as a precaution. The older came to his side immediately, ‘Let’s go to your room,’

Taehyung didn’t argue and let himself be taken to his room. Hoseok tucked him in and held his cold hand, sitting beside him.

‘Do you want me to stay?’

Taehyung shook his head. No, he wasn’t a child anymore, he could handle things himself. ‘I’m alright. Don’t worry, my father won’t just show up again. If he does, I’ll send him back to where he came from,’

Hoseok smiled at the boy and kissed the top of his head. ‘Alright. Try to get some sleep. If you need me, come to my room,’

Taehyung nodded and closed his eyes. He knew he won’t get any sleep tonight, but he wasn’t going to let this make him afraid or paranoid. There were still so many things he needed answers to and he had to be brave for that.

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Unbowed Unbent Unbroken](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awY-AmaxTJA&ab_channel=GameofThronesDDL) _

‘Madam Lestrange,’ there was a voice from outside the cabin door. Bellatrix turned from the window she was sitting at, holding a small, black open casket. Her frantic eyes went from the door to the box in her hand.

‘Don’t worry my lord,’ she whispered into the box. ‘Don’t worry, I will make it all possible, I will do it for you. I will make you proud my lord, you will have all the power again. The stone will be created, you’ll be powerful again,’

She heard the man knock on the door and hurriedly but carefully shut the box, ‘What is it Scabior?’ she placed the box inside a false panel on the wall.

‘Abesnek has returned. He has news,’ Scabior said.

‘And has Dromon arrived?’ she asked, getting down the steps and walking towards the door.

‘Yes he has,’

‘Good,’ Bellatrix opened the door, giving a malicious smile to the other Death Eater. ‘Send them in,’ she said and Scabior cowered slightly in her presence, scurrying off to the deck.

Soon, Anesbek, the wizard with a greying beard and long hair entered the cabin, carrying a quiver of arrows. Rudolphus Lestrange, Antonio Dolohov and Hestia Carrow followed. With them was another man, from whom everyone seemed to be maintaining some distance. He had long, brown unkempt hair and shining hazel eyes. He was of average height but had a muscular built, scars running along his forearms. He did not wear robes or cloaks unlike the other people present there. He was barefoot, with old clothes, matted with mud and moss.

‘Dromon!’ Bellatrix greeted the wild looking man first. ‘I see you travelled on foot!’

‘Hmmm,’ the man grunted. ‘We prefer travelling by foot,’

‘Of course! Of course. But it causes delays you know,’ Bellatrix hissed, narrowing her eyes. ‘We don’t have time to waste so hurry up next time I call you,’

‘You don’t command me,’ Dromon said.

‘Oh is it! I see that you have appointed a new leader!’ Bellatrix looked delighted. ‘Who is it?’ her eyes narrowed in mock curiosity.

‘Roderic,’ Dromon said. ‘Roderic The Brave we call him,’

‘Oh yes, I know him very well. I’ve known him for years, ever since Skoll took him in. He was just 14 you know, poor little boy, bitten by Greyback the mindless, left to be an outcast. We took him in, showed him control and strength. He reveres us. So I hope you understand, if you disobey me,’ Bellatrix inched closer to him, eyes dark with madness, ‘You disobey your leader as well,’ she whispered, ‘Isn’t that punishable by law in your pack?’

‘I will never disobey my leader,’ Dromon the werewolf said.

‘Good!’ Bellatrix’s voice suddenly heightened and she turned around. ‘Then you will do as I instruct. Anesbek?’ she looked at the other man.

‘Yes Madam Lestrange,’ the young man bowed slightly.

‘Tell me the news from the Alchemists,’ Bellatrix walked around the room, her boots clanking on the wooden floor.

‘The Guild is moving fast. One of them has contacted the boy and seems to be gaining favour,’

‘What about Martaeus?’ Bellatrix asked.

‘It seems he hasn’t reconciled with his son yet,’

‘And what news of the boy?’

‘Still well protected. Apart from Dumbledore and his auror mother, he has a close circle of friends who are guiding him and are constantly with him, this includes Kim Hyunseok’s son, the Min-Dracwyn children, Turner’s daughter, Vorhart’s daughter and Park’s son,’

‘Those rats…’ Bellatrix sneered. ‘They are an abomination to the Slytherin house… blood traitors all of them. Didn’t Lord Dracwyn drill any sense into his grandchildren? Maybe we need to send him a reminder again,’

‘It’s a waste of power, these blood traitors,’ Carrow added. ‘If my child betrayed our cause like this, it was better if that child was dead,’

‘And…’ Bellatrix moved closer to Anesbek. ‘What news of the Park boy?’

‘I’ve heard rumours,’ Anesbek said, ‘That the students tease him about being a werewolf. They say he shows typical signs of weakness during the full mon but there hasn’t been a transformation yet,’

Bellatrix turned to Dromon, ‘Do you still want him?’

‘Yes. Like I told you, Skoll’s venom works differently, it has the metamorphagus ability mixed in it, providing the ability to suppress it to an extent. It is definitely present in the boy, it will progress with each full moon, and will be faster in the presence of others of our kind. We want him in our pack Madam Lestrange, we don’t want to leave anyone who has Skoll’s venom. We are one of a kind, the Ministry cannot have us,’

‘Alright. You are skilled at travelling on foot, undetected by magical borders and so are members of your pack. Take about 4 of you and invade Hogwarts,’ Bellatrix said.

‘That’s a suicide mission,’ Carrow stepped forward and said, her brown eyes frantic.

‘We cannot enter the castle,’ Dromon said with finality.

‘If not the castle then the forest,’ Bellatrix turned to him and said, ‘I’m sure the one you want, you will find there, sooner or later. If his condition gets worse, they won’t keep in the castle during a full moon. That’s how we’ll begin taking each one of them. And then once we have the boy, the Guild will create the stone for us,’ she nodded at Anesbek who retrieved long, arrows from the quiver at his back. The wizard handed them to the werewolf.

‘What are these for?’

‘To slow down the silver haired boy,’ Bellatrix said.

‘Elkyric power is in the blood,’ Anesbek explained. ‘Drain him of his blood, drain him of his power and catch him. These arrows are specially charmed so that the victim keeps bleeding, it’s not easy to heal them,’

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Sleeping At Last - Turning Page Instrumental](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK6JQSPFzPM&ab_channel=SleepingAtLast-Topic) _

When Namjoon came back to his warm and wood panelled room after his meeting the McGonagall and the head girl, he didn’t expect the place to look like a niffler had burrowed through it.

‘Jin?’ He called out to the tall boy crouching next to the bed, an old metal box lay open on the floor and Jin held a small photograph in his hand. Namjoon kneeled next to him and saw that Jin’s cheeks were tear stained.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I had forgotten where I put this box,’ Jin sniffled. ‘Was looking for it all over the room,’

‘But that’s not why you’re crying,’

Jin closed his eyes, placing the photo of the seven of them back into the box. Coincidentally, even though Yoongi was not their friend back then, he was in the blurry background, nearly walking out of the frame. Jin was surprised to have found this in his current state of mind. Namjoon took his hand and made him sit on the bed.

‘Tell me what’s wrong,’ his thumb rubbed circles on the back of Jin’s palm.

‘Nothing in particular…’ Jin sighed. ‘I’m feeling uneasy about something… my mind isn’t resting… That nagging feeling of something bad is going to happen is over me again,’

Namjoon wrapped Jin’s hand between both of his, ‘I’m… so sorry that I can’t do anything to help you… If I could, I would do anything to-’

‘Just… don’t ever leave,’

‘Jin I'm not going away anywhere,’ Namjoon smiled, pulling him closer to his chest. Both laid back on the pillow, looking at the photographs, trying to feel better by remembering the old days. And they didn’t know when and how but Jin was wrapped into Namjoon’s arm, hugging his chest.

‘This was on the first day of second year right?’ He held a photograph filled with 11 year olds in black Hogwarts robes, all sitting on one side of a compartment on the Hogwarts express. Little Hoseok was smiling widely, braces on his teeth. Jimin was chubby like a marshmallow, big cheeks pulled in a wide grin, his eyes almost disappearing. Jungkook didn't know Jin was taking a photo and he looked into the camera dazed, mouth full of candy and the leg of a chocolate frog hanging from his open mouth.

‘This was the year Emina became friends with us isn't it?’ Jin asked.

‘Yeah. Because of Jungkook. They look so small,’ Namjoon sighed.

‘We look so small too,’ Jin finally smiled, looking at another picture clicked two years later where a 11 year old Taehyung was eating watermelons, seeds all over his face.

‘I remember how freaked out you were seeing Hobi in metal braces,’ Namjoon’s eyes squinted in glee. ‘ _Why are your teeth in a cage_  you asked him,’

‘Well thanks to me he didn’t have to wear them long! Madam Pomfrey fixed his teeth in a week!’ Jin moved even closer to Namjoon. Namjoon was replying to him but midway the head boy felt Jin’s breathing had gotten slower and deeper. He looked down to see the boy’s long lashes shut.

‘Jin?’

The only response was Jin shifting in his sleep to drape a hand around Namjoon’s chest so the boy smiled to himself, dimples going deep and closed his eyes as well. A few moments later, when Jin felt Namjoon’s breathing had evened, he slowly opened one eye, peeking at a sleeping Namjoon and smiling at the small victory. He moved closer, one heel tangling between Namjoon’s ankles, feeling content that his innocent trick had worked to keep Namjoon next to him for the night and closed his eyes.

He didn't know how long he should hold back. He wanted to tell Namjoon how he felt… but he didn't know how far away his vision was… what if Namjoon doesn't have feelings for him right now? What if his brief vision of them was from 5 years into the future? Fear gripped him again… that he was pushing things to happen, out of its natural flow. Now he wondered if what he saw was a vision or a figment of his imagination and desire merged into a dream.

Jin felt the breeze rustle in the trees around him. His hair tickled his eyes as it wavered in the wind. The smell of fresh grass beneath him was pleasant. But there was a scent even more pleasant entering his senses, the dark musk drawing him to turn his body to his side, meeting Namjoon’s eyes looking at endearingly in the sunlight.

‘I thought you were asleep,’ Namjoon said.

‘No, just immersing into the environment. But you smell so good that I couldn’t resist turning back towards you,’

Namjoon chuckled shyly, turning to lie on his stomach. He stretched one hand and stroked Jin’s face. Jin loved looking at Namjoon from this angle, the younger’s eyes big dark orbs as he watches Jin. Namjoon hoisted himself on his elbows and went over Jin, enveloping his arms around him while their lips lightly pressed together. Namjoon pulled away slowly, their lips parting and licked Jin’s chapstick on his own lips.

‘Strawberry,’ Namjoon whispered.

‘Your favourite,’ Jin smiled, his hand caressing Namjoon’s neck and travelling down to his shirt. ‘The weather’s hot,’

‘And?’ Namjoon asked him with a slight smirk.

‘You can be without this,’ Jin tugged at the blue cotton fabric over Namjoon’s chest. ‘I’d rather have my lips on it that this shirt,’

Namjoon smiled, bending over to kiss Jin again as the older pulled his shirt up to his chest. Namjoon loved the taste of Jin’s mouth, everything about it was wonderful to him- his plump lips, his inviting tongue licking Namjoon’s mouth, the heat both felt growing between them. He kissed him passionately, taking his time and caressing Jin’s lips with his tongue and feeling Jin’s tongue move against his. Jin’s hands were now all over Namjoon’s naked back, fingers slithering softly and then gripping him firmly, running them down with a soothing pressure over his sides.

‘Take it off Joonie!’ Jin whined between their kisses. Namjoon smiled against his lips and sat up on his knees. Catching the hem of his shirt he pulled it up over his head and his eyes opened.

Jin was back in their dormitory, the crimson ceiling staring back at him. Namjoon was still asleep next to him. Jin felt a warmth resonation from where his palm wrapped around Namjoon’s forearm, like they were connected somehow. Namjoon stirred awake and looked back at Jin in a slight panic. Why was Jin’s hand so warm? Was he able to see the dream Namjoon was dreaming?

The boy tried to carefully take his hand out of Jin’s.

‘Joonie?’ he murmured, eyes blinking. Jin noticed that Namjoon looked worried. ‘What’s the matter?’

Hearing Jin call him Joonie the same way he had in his dream made Namjoon’s stomach flutter.

‘N-Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,’ he said wondering if he should get up. Jin didn’t seem like he had seen the dream, maybe all was ok.

‘I dreamt of you,’ Jin said, sending a wave of current through Namjoon’s body. He cautiously looked at Jin.

‘Don’t look so scared, I think it was a good dream,’

‘You… you don’t remember?’

‘Not really. But I think we were having a good time,’ Jin smiled.

‘A good time… with our friends?’

‘No, we were alone. It was peaceful and happy. I wish I have such dreams more often,’ Jin continued smiling and Namjoon slowly relaxed. Maybe Jin doesn’t remember the details. Or maybe he had entirely another dream.

‘Ok, we should get dressed and eat something,’ Namjoon said, his hand slowly moving away from Jin’s waist. He heard Jin yawn behind him and stretch himself.

‘Joonie, I feel like eating strawberry pie. You love it too don’t you,’ he said, making Namjoon halt in his steps.

‘Maybe… they might make it for dessert tonight?’ Namjoon said.

‘I don’t know if they will… anyway, I’m gonna sleep for a little longer,’ Jin curled up and closed his eyes. Namjoon chewed his lip and went ahead to brush, wondering what dream Jin had actually had.

Jin opened his eyes once Namjoon’s back was towards him. Was the dream his? Or Namjoon’s? He was aware that he was holding Namjoon’s hand as they slept, but he wasn’t sure who’s dream he was in.

But this made Jin aware of something else… was he able to read a person’s mind if he touched them? Was that possible for him? If that’s the case, then in the complications to come, Jin could be the only one able to tell from lie to truth with a touch.

*

Jimin was walking back from Herbology with a smile on his face. His assignment of the Wiggen Sapling had gone well and by now those 3 foot tall plants had become his friends, seeking his company and wrapping their leaves around his forearms. Madam Sprout had invited him to come see them in the greenhouse whenever he wished too.

Halfway through the lonely corridor, he crossed a group of students from mixed houses who side-eyed him. Jimin thought nothing of it until he heard one of them calling him.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - My Watch Has Ended](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRXVO1NuGVU&ab_channel=GameofThronesDDL) _

‘You don’t look too well Park,’ the boy said. He was a tall Ravenclaw named Freddie, a seventh year, who had never ever liked Jimin being friends with Jungkook. Jimin’s eyes darted over all of them. They were all bigger than him, ranging from fifth to seventh year and he knew they all disliked people who wore green.

‘What happened? You look sick all the time now. Are you alright?’ another one asked, this time, a senior Gryffindor named Jessica Simpson. He remembered Ash mentioning her a few times, stating Simpson always looked like she had drunk sour milk whenever she looked in the Slytherins’ direction. Vanessa’s theory was Simpson was among the ones ‘jealous’ of Ash.

‘I’m fine,’ Jimin said, trying to keep the anger away from his voice. ‘Thanks for asking,’ and he turned to go but one of them caught the bag on his back.

‘Is it because the full moon is in a week?’ another Gryffindor asked him.

Jimin took a deep breath and turned to the front, ‘Why should that be related to my health at all Bradley?’

‘We heard you’re taking wolfsbane everyday,’ the Hufflepuff among them asked. ‘Is that true?’

‘You’re hearing rumours,’ Jimin pushed the Gryffindor’s hand off his bag. ‘Don’t believe whatever you hear,’

‘We’re not believing what we hear,’ The Gryffindor didn’t let go of the bag, ‘We want to check for ourselves,’

‘You don’t have any authority to check my things,’ Jimin pushed him away with more force.

‘Oh!’ Jessica chuckled, ‘Getting violent are we? If you don’t have a problem, then show us what’s in your bag? Prove you’re not… infected,’

The last word stung Jimin’s chest. He curled in his fists and tried to walk away again, only to be pulled back. He staggered, trying to balance himself straight.

‘What the fuck!’ he yelled at the boys who had almost managed to grab his bag. The Hufflepuff suddenly looked wary of the situation.

‘Guys, there’s no need to get aggressive,’ the boy in yellow tried to calm things down but the Gryffindors were too excited by this point. Jimin had a vice grip on one end of his bag while they tried to pull it off him.

‘You were the one who was most curious!’ Jessica said to the Hufflepuff. ‘Do you really want to live with a werewolf? Under the same roof? You know he could kill us all if he turned?’

‘Enough!’ Jimin whipped his wand out, pressing it into Bradley’s chest who jumped back. ‘Let go, right now or I’ll hex all of you,’

The boys started to laugh at him and Jimin clenched his jaw so hard he was afraid his teeth might break.

‘You’ll hex us? There are five of us and just one puny you,’ Freddie sniggered, pushing at his chest. Jimin fell back and the bag slipped from his grasp. He saw them empty the contents unceremoniously on the floor. All his books, parchment scrolls, inkwells, his favourite set of quills, his little journal of sketches.

The group of towering students loomed over the contents, turning over the inkwell with their foot.

‘Hmm, so you don’t hide it in your bag huh?’ Freddie said, dropping the bag on the floor as well. Jimin was gritting his teeth and he lunged forward, pushing Freddie down. The Hufflepuff pulled Jimin away from him.

‘End this, right now!’ the Hufflepuff urged the others to put their wands down. ‘If we start duelling we won’t escape detention. Put your wands down, all of you,’

The boys slowly put their hands to their sides and walked away. Jimin was seething from head to toe in a turbulent fury, packing his bag again and storming off. His hands and eyes ached from exhaustion, an effect of the wolfsbane weakening his body. He didn’t know how much longer he could remain strong, physically or mentally. These were people who had studied with him for more than five years… Did he ever do something to be treated this way? It was getting harder everyday to smile on the outside for the people he loved.

Ash walked down the corridor after having talked to professor Flitwick about her missing assignment. She was confused because this wasn't the first time, she remembered Professor Vector having said something similar about her assigned work for Arithmancy. And, she had had to repeat the work in both the classes now.

For the past month or so, unusual things had happened around her which was probably why Ash hadn't noticed the small things like her new bag splitting open randomly, couple of airplane memos following her and Laura (Yoongi had disabled them and thrown it away in disgust before they could read it), a bludger thrown her way during Gryffindor practice (she had dodged it and thrown it back at them with a vengeance, the Gryffindor who caught it formed bruises on their hand), Laura’s missing notebook (she thought Jungkook had taken it, but Ash thought that maybe it wasn't as simple as that now), Klaus had reported some strangers lurking around the place where the Slytherin stored their broomsticks, and several things directed towards Slytherin as a house. Now that she thought back on it, Ash probably didn't notice the pattern because she tended to brush these small unkind acts towards their house away.

She saw Vanessa frowning at something she picked off the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.

‘Hey, Van,’ Ash placed her elbow on her friends shoulder. ‘What’s that?’ she dived her hand in to take the crumpled piece of parchment.

‘Don’t read that-’ Vanessa tried to stop her but Ash’s eyes had already found the words.

Among the range of insults the words ‘hedge whore captain’ and ‘blackblooded skank of a prefect’ stood out the most. Ash tore the paper furiously and threw it on the stone floor.

‘Don’t pay attention to them,’ Vanessa rubbed her arm.

‘It’s getting hard not to,’ Ash said through gritted teeth. ‘What are they slut shaming me for? For talking to Namjoon? What have I done?’

*

Taehyung was taking the shortest route from his training with Dumbledore back to his dormitory, trying to hurry up before curfew settles and the prefects gather for rounds. Throughout the day, people were congratulating him on winning Hufflepuff’s first match. Suddenly, everyone was admiring him and Taehyung would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the attention. He liked how everyone patted him on the back, how the juniors looked at him with awe. The respect he yearned for, he was finally getting some of it. No one thought of him as the slow and weird kid anymore, at least for now.

His footsteps echoed in the castle, the vast expanse looking almost too creepy. Especially the second floor girl’s bathroom where Moaning Myrtle lived. But to Taehyung it was almost habitual now to pass through the area and find it oddly flooded whenever the ghost was upset.

He saw a few scattered pieces of writing and colourful sheets floating into the flooded floor as he entered the corridor and that spiked his curiousity. Some of the handwriting looked familiar so he followed the trail into the bathroom. Myrtle was nowhere to be seen. There were some books with broken spines regurgitating their yellow papers over the floor. As he moved down to examine them, Taehyung frowned at tiny coloured pieces of paper floating in the water along with a pocket sized book, velvet purple. Inside, on one of the pages he found a doodle of a symbol he recognised, the symbol he had seen on Charles and Laura Dracwyn’s robes during the trial at the Ministry - a Dragon head.

He went to the clubroom where all his friends now hung out on a daily basis and found the Slytherins there, all hushed up around Jimin, discussing something serious. They all looked up at Taehyung when he came to the door.

‘Umm,’ Taehyung drummed his fingers on the door frame, ‘I may have found your notebook Laura,’

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - No One Walks Away From Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNjkUduAlHI&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic) _

In minutes he stood on the flooded bathroom floor beside the Slytherins. There was silence as Ash turned over her torn and wet assignment parchments, chucking them back onto the wet floor, cursing. Meanwhile Laura just stared at the destroyed notebook in Tae’s hand. She simply stared, unmoving like a statue.

‘Laura, maybe we could fix it,’ Tae said. ‘There are spells. I'm sure Namjoon or Emina know how to do it,’

Laura took the notebook from him, running her hand over the torn cover.

‘I will kill them,’ she whispered. Tae could see her breaths get short and heavy in anger and her eyes had a deathly flare.

‘HOW DARE THEY!?’ She screamed, whipping her wand aimlessly and the wooden doors of the cubicles splintered through the middle. She couldn’t fathom who would have dared to deliberately destroy one of her personal belongings. Her eyes showed mad fury. Yoongi went to her, grabbing her wrists and bringing them down to her side.

‘We will find out who did this. But you have to calm down,’

‘DON'T ASK ME TO CALM DOWN! THIS  **WAS MINE!** ’

She tried not to look at the fractured and seeping bits of her notebook on the floor, but she couldn't stop. She had curated her personal thoughts in doodles and little notes inside it, she didn’t know how much of it those crazies had read. She felt exposed like never before. Would they be making fun of her now? ‘The fucking nerve…,’ she whispered. Her grandfather’s voice repeatedly accosted her,  _weak… You were preyed on like a squib with no power. They think they can trample over you because you let yourself come to this._ The voice was deceptively soft, menacing and cold.

Laura had slowly learned the true meaning of power and intimidation at her grandfather’s knee from a very young age. The refined ways of exerting authority, the noble lineage of her illustrious family, the customary duties of the first-born of the Dracwyns, she had carried all of it on her shoulders without question, only to now face the reality that maybe it wasn’t enough.

‘Don't worry now,’ Yoongi said to her, his voice dangerously quiet, sending a kind of shiver down everyone’s spine. He looked at Ash and then Jimin, who’s eyes were hooded in cold fury, ‘We’ll catch them. And they’ll get what they deserve, I promise you,’ Whoever did this had triggered his anger and now there will be hell to pay. ‘No one hurts you all and gets away with it,’

They silently walked back to the common room. Taehyung was walking behind them with Jimin, the older slowly filled him in with the events of a few hours ago. Taehyung knew the hurt and pain Jimin was going through, having been bullied himself for a long time. Taehyung let him speak, just holding his hand in his.

‘Jimin…’ The boy asked carefully. ‘You know you can share anything with me,’

Jimin didn’t look at him.

‘I’m asking you because I care about you, more than anything else,’ Taehyung continued. ‘I can see you aren’t feeling well, I can see the signs. And if there’s anyone who knows what it feels like to suddenly feel different, it’s me,’

He felt Jimin’s hands curl between his palms. Jimin shivered as the words left his mouth, ‘The speculations of these people… they aren’t wrong. I’m… infected,’

He expected Taehyung to recoil, to move away, but the boy didn’t.

‘We will find a way,’ was all Taehyung said. ‘I’m with you, got that?’

They entered the Slytherin corridors. Ash turned back to look at them with thought. ‘I might know who did this,’ she said.

She told him all about the few students who hated her because of the rumour with Namjoon, how that had passed on to Laura due to the Rita Skeeter article and their new friendships and the subsequent incidents that caused all of these things to happen.

‘You might be right,’ Jimin added as a conclusion. ‘Jessica Simpson was among the students who rounded on me today,’

‘I don't think they are just a group of disgruntled fanatics. There might be more of them, it’s not an easy feat getting them.’ Yoongi said.

‘Do we confront them?’ Jimin asked. ‘Get this Jessica and Freddie to talk to us?’

Yoongi shifted, his shoulders getting straighter and face thoughtful, ‘That won’t work,’ he whispered biting his lip. ‘We have to catch them red-handed. Trap them. Or no one will believe it and they’ll get away from it as usual.’ Ash’s eyes gazed over him. He was again reminding her a lot of Grandpa Dracwyn, the way he stood, slightly intimidating.

Jimin looked up at the ceiling stretching his neck, trying to work out a knot. This wasn’t an open rivalry anymore where insults were thrown in the open. He and his friends were specifically being targetted now and it was getting on his nerves.

*

‘ATROCIOUS!’ Snape barked, turning towards the 6th year Slytherins and Ravenclaws with a swish of his cloak, making everyone jump in their seats and snap their eyes wide open. His long and hard stare sweeped over all of them as if he was personally trying to get into everyone’s heads and know their greatest weaknesses.

‘Atrocious, is the word… for the assignments you all submitted last week,’ he said. ‘And you all hope to pass your NEWTS with such a performance?’ He tutted.

‘But we still have a year for NEWTS professor,’ Montague stated.

‘I think you all need more than a year to prepare Mr. Montague. Maybe a decade. You all receive an F for your assignment,’

There was a loud ‘no’ and ‘boo’ from the whole class which was instantly silenced by Snape’s sharp glare.

‘I am giving you all one last chance,’ Snape said, placing his palms flat on the desk in front of him. ‘Though I don't have much hopes,’ he added. ‘Turn to page three hundred and ninety four,’ he enunciated each number heavily and everyone turned their pages with frowns.

‘You can pair up with another student and prepare the Chelidonium Miniscula in exactly forty five minutes,’ he said, earning another set of ‘whaaaat’ from the students.

‘Shut your whining before I send you all to detention. All of you have grown to become a bunch of weak, lazy brats and now your brain cells seem to be dying. If you don't successfully finish this assignment, drop potions right now instead of wasting two years of my teaching,’

Everyone was instantly filled with panic and fear. Laura and Vanessa nervously glanced at each other.

‘Pair up with Yoongi,’ Laura told Vanessa. ‘Your good at it and he doesn't have much patience when it comes to potions,’

‘Who’ll be your partner?’ Vanessa asked her with concern. ‘This isn't an easy potion,’

‘Honestly I work best alone,’ she said. ‘I'll take someone who won't meddle much,’

‘You sure?’ Vanessa asked her and Laura nodded assuringly. Van squeezed her hand and moved behind to join Yoongi’s table who’s eyebrows were contracting further and further as he read the instructions of the potions.

Laura decided she’d pair up with whoever chose to approach her. She saw Montague gather his books and walk towards her table but suddenly Jungkook was in the periphery of her vision, standing next to her. She tried not to show any response.

‘Hey listen,’ his voice was a whisper. She turned to him feigning disinterest even though her stomach instantly fluttered up.

‘I don't want any chance of having to drop potions. And you know that if we do this together, there's absolutely no way that we will fail,’

 _He made a valid point._ ‘Alright, for once you make sense,’ she said, pushing her book to one side of the table so he could have some space. Jungkook gave a victorious smile and slided in next to her.

Behind them Yoongi had a confused frown. ‘Huh?’

Vanessa looked at him, wondering what made him so befuddled.

‘Laura is pairing with Coconut head!!?’ Yoongi couldn’t apprehend it.

‘Have you all found a pair? Be quick now,’ Snape said walking past the row of desks. ‘And start. You have 45 minutes,’

Everyone got to work, filling the room with clanks of metal instruments, burners turning, fumes and feet shuffling to get ingredients.

Jungkook placed a gooey gel like neon green substance in front of Laura. It had small tentacle like projections, moving creepily in its petridish.

‘What the fuck is this!’ Laura exclaimed, feeling a bit alarmed at this weird creature.

‘It's an algae. You gotta extract those stones you see at the bottom,’ Jungkook pointed at 3 bluish grey stones at the bottom of the dish. ‘Dig in. It won't harm you. It's like jelly,’

‘Well then why don't you dig in?’

‘I'm crushing the hornhill seeds. I can do it faster than you right? They are quite hard,’

Jungkook hoped his tone did not come across as condescending. Laura didn't argue and slowly pushed her hands into the live jelly. It was harder than she realized. The algae was pushing her hand backwards. It's tentacles were becoming longer and moving faster. One of it closed around a lock of her hair, leaving green slime as it pulled at her.

‘Fuck,’ she cursed under her breath, holding the dish as far as possible with one hand, while the other hand dripped slime. Jungkook instantly left his mortar and pestle and tried to get the tentacle off her hair. She felt his fingers tuck her hair behind her ears and he wiped the line of slime on her cheek from the back of his robe sleeve.

‘I think you should just tie your hair. It will attack again,’ he said to her.

‘Can't exactly do that right now,’ she said, showing her dirty hands.

‘Where is your hair tie?’ He asked.

Laura tried to keep her surprise to herself but her eyes widened just the slightest. Was Jungkook going to tie her hair in the middle of the whole class? Man he REALLY did not want to drop potions. She pointed to her bag, kept on the floor at the foot of the table.

‘The tiny zip on the side,’ she said and Jungkook successfully retrieved a green hair tie with a silver snake on it.

‘Didn't know they make Slytherin special accessories,’ he twirled it in his fingers.

‘We have a shop,’ Laura shrugged smugly.

Jungkook stood behind her, his hands were shivering as he brought them to her hair. He didn’t know where he got his moments of sudden bravery but right now he was so nervous… nervous of what she might think of his actions, if she would reciprocate-

‘Don't tie it too tight… or too loose,’ her voice snapped him back.

‘I know how to tie hair,’ Jungkook rolled his eyes. She felt him carefully pull her hair back, lock by lock, trying to not touch her face. His fingers tingled her at her nape as he tried to collect every strand. She gulped, her stomach fluttering incessantly. He twisted her hair around the tie, finally able to secure all of it. It didn't feel too comfortable to Laura but at least there were no stray strands now.

‘There! Done! See I made you pretty too! My hands are magical!’ He was back to being smug as he spread out his palms and waved his fingers in front of his face.

‘How do you know how to tie a girl’s hair?’ Laura asked him curiously. As far as she knew, he had an older brother, no sisters.

‘You see I am the golden boy for a reason. I know everything,’

Laura pursed her lips and smacked his face lightly with her slime covered hand, leaving a trail of green across his cheek. ‘When will you stop being cocky?’

Jungkook was a bit startled at what she did. He had always wanted her to be playful with him but now that her hand actually touched his face, he was tongue-tied for a moment. He looked away, grabbing the mortar and pestel and then looked at her from the side. ‘You’ll miss it if I stop it, I'm sure,’ he grinned. Laura rolled her eyes and looked away, but a small smile painted her lips, unnoticed by all. ‘Cheesy dork…’ she muttered.

Once she was done extracting the stones, she was much relieved to have her hands clean again. Meanwhile, Jungkook was stirring the potion.

‘Ok, add potamine powder next,’ Laura said to him.

‘No, add elderflower seeds first,’ Jungkook said.

‘But the instructions say potamine,’

‘Trust me, we should put elderflower first. A senior told me elderflower should always be added before the potion reached 97 degrees and it's almost there now,’

‘Then why don't the instructions mention it?’

Jungkook made a grab for the bottle with the seeds but Laura grabbed it first, taking a step closer to him.

Jungkook’s face lost its defence for a moment.

‘Follow the instructions!’ She argued.

Jungkook grabbed the bottle as well, his fingers enclosing around hers. He pulled the bottle towards him, tugging Laura with it.

‘You have to trust me. Please,’ his fingers were warm. Laura gulped as his scent hit her again. It was like a freeing ocean breeze, just opening up your senses. He was just looking at her, with soft brown eyes, asking her to listen to him and felt his thumb graze across the back of her hand. When had their relationship turned to something like this?

‘Ahem,’ they heard someone clear their throat. Both looked to the front of their desk to see Snape standing with his arms crossed, eyebrows raised.

‘If… the chit-chat… is done… or would you rather free your potions slot for other, more important things?’

Both instantly took their hands off the bottle, moving to have some distance between themselves. Their cheeks were flushed red. Jungkook fumbled with the stirring spoon, dropping it twice while Laura tried to screw on the cap of a bottle and failed 3 times.

Snape slowly walked away, making the situation more awkward.

Once the potions master was out of sight, Laura slowly pushed the elderflower bottle towards Jungkook who looked at it with surprise.

_She gave in? She listened?_

‘Lets go with your way this time,’ she said. ‘If it fails, you are doing all my assignments for this semester,’

‘Trust me on this one,’ he said, adding a pinch of the seeds into the potion.

The currents between them were not going unnoticed by others. Yugyeom nudged Sierra and pointed towards Jungkook but her eyes were on them since way earlier as she churned the hornhill seeds with much aggression.

‘What do you think is going on?’ Yugyeom asked Sierra though he knew for himself what it could be. Jungkook was his roommate, and he knew how to read him.

‘I don’t know,’ Sierra bit through her teeth. ‘Honestly I’m a little worried for him,’

‘Worried? Why?’

‘I mean… we know our Jungkook isn’t shrewd minded… but can’t say the same for the company he’s keeping can we?’

Laura got to cutting the nettle leaves. Jungkook watched her from his periphery, the curve of pale neck. She rarely wore her hair up and his mouth watered at the sight, the effect of her scent of lillies and frankincensce heightening and he wanted to get closer. His body moved on its own. Laura felt him behind her, heat radiating from him while his surprisingly attractive forearm came to her side to rest on the table.

Jungkook’s face was peering over her shoulder, reading the instructions book in front of her. She heard him mumble whatever he was reading, right next to her ear. His finger was following the line of instructions until it touched hers, resting on the same line. Both didn't move.

‘Do you know which of these seed is thaworne?’ she could feel the rumble in his voice. His palm curled next to hers, not breaking the contact and he slowly turned his head to look at her. Laura turned towards him too. ‘The blue shiny ones I think,’ her voice was almost a raspy whisper. Jungkook felt he was getting addicted to the burn she made him feel, almost wanting to close his eyes and relish the feel of it in all his senses. But he had to control himself since they were unfortunately surrounded by people.

‘Can you get me some?’ He said, moving back to his cauldron, his shoulder sliding against her back. It wasn't really willing to move away from her, but he had to before he lost the last shred of self control and kissed her right in the middle of the class.

Yoongi watched him with a stink eye.

‘Seriously,’ he beckoned Vanessa again. ‘What is Jungkook upto? Why is he so close to Laura? Is he flirting with her?’

‘Even if he is, so what? If you don't concentrate on our potion then forget about me becoming a healer. I need potions for NEWTS,’

‘How dare he flirt with her?!’ Yoongi’s cheeks puffed. He was baffled at Vanessa’s disinterest. ‘You are seriously ok with this? It's our Laura there,’

‘She’s barely a year younger than you so stop treating her like a child. Both of us know we don't have to worry about her. So please, concentrate,’

Yoongi’s mouth hung open, wanting to argue further but Vanessa was so concentrated in the potion that he knew it was no use.

‘Hey Jeon!’ He called out. Vanessa gave him a warning look as Jungkook turned, looking a bit dazed.

‘Yeah?’

‘Can I borrow a dropper? I broke mine,’ he said shrugging. Jungkook nodded and gave his dropper to him. As he was going to keep it on Yoongi’s desk, the Slytherin caught his wrist in a firm grip. Jungkook was startled at that. He looked up and Yoongi was looking at him dangerously with a smile.

‘Careful now,’ he said to the younger, giving a warning look. ‘You wouldn't want to hurt yourself,’

Jungkook blinked a few times but his guts told him it was whatever he had just witnessed between him and Laura. Yoongi released the grip and returned to his work.

‘Thanks for the dropper,’ he added as Jungkook turned to the front awkwardly.

Yoongi was quite a scary person sometimes.

Once the time was up, everyone stepped away form their stations and Snape went from one table to another, checking the potions and scribbling a grade on his parchment.

Sierra looked to the table on her side where Montague was peering over his potion, mumbling about the color not being right enough.

‘Montague… couldn’t concentrate on your potions today could you?’ she said, but kept her tone friendly.

‘What’s it to you?’ he raised an eyebrow.

‘Well, your potion would’ve been perfect if you had paired up with Dracwyn isn’t it? Too bad someone else beat you to the chase,’

Montague didn’t comment as he felt the sting of her words. He looked at her with hard eyes.

‘Don’t let yourself get beat a second time. Or are you happy about a streak of blue in your field of green?’

‘You can keep your blue to yourself,’

‘Precisely. So we both want the same thing. It would probably be best if you were more proactive about trying to get what you want before it slips away from your hands,’ she gave him a knowing look and turned her eyes back to the front.

‘What were you mumbling to Montague?’ Yugyeom asked her, having heard only bits and pieces.

‘Just advising him about how to keep the colors pure. His potions color I mean,’ Sierra said, watching Snape pass Laura and Jungkook’s table.

Both Laura and Kook were relieved to see the passing grade on their parchments, almost hi-fiving each other but holding back, bodies and limbs moving away awkwardly, unsure of how much happiness to express to the other. As they were clearing their desks, Montague came to Laura’s side. He rested his elbows on the table so that he could lean on his back and be on level in height with Laura.

‘Hey Laura,’ he said and then whispered something in her ear, making her smile.

‘Anything special?’ She asked him in a whisper.

Montague ran a hand through his blonde hair. ‘Not really. Maybe compensation for having to go for potions remedials,’ he winked at her and left.

Jungkook was side-eyeing them. He had never liked Montague. He was the epitome of all the negative qualities of a Slytherin - a show off and an arrogant prick. He wondered why Laura even tolerated his presence especially when the whole school knew that he had a thing for her. There could be only one reason that no matter what, purebloods stick together. They don't shun people out who are supposed to be in their group. They maintain that tight circle because they've been taught they are supposed to do so. It was any day more likely for Laura to date someone from her circle than to date him.

She is a pure blood aristocrat Slytherin. He is a half blood regular Ravenclaw. Well… not regular. He was the golden boy. But that was only in school. Outside of school, no one knew him. But everyone knew a Dracwyn. She would never ever even be interested in a guy like him. She was meant for someone like herself, a proud pure blood… He wasn't that.

Jungkook felt something he rarely used to feel… He felt lacking, not good enough. And it was the most hollow feeling in the world.

Laura realized that Jungkook had grown weirdly silent. And he was right… she missed his smug remarks, the way he tried to show off, when his face lit up in a cocky smile. She broke his chain of thought with a rare smile towards him, ‘So, we did good!’

‘Yeah we did,’ Jungkook agreed, a shy smile on his face, unable to face Laura as she smiled at him for maybe the first time. ‘Anyways… I guess I'll go now,’

Laura’s smile visibly fell.

Jungkook’s hand came towards her face and he bopped her nose with his index finger.

‘Bye Dracwyn,’

He had a sort of finality in the way he bid her goodbye, as if he had taken a resolution. He walked out of the class without looking back, making Laura feel cold and knotted in her stomach.

* * *

Peeves was terrorizing the first years waiting outside their History of Magic classroom. The children were being pelted with an assortment of objects from solid inkwells to hard fruits. Jungkook had been walking to the greenhouse when he noticed the screams and cackling laughter emanating from the direction of the classrooms. He hurried to the sight and watched with horror as Peeves prepared to empty an inkwell onto a crying first year cowering in fear. Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost was trying to reason with the poltergeist, but his translucent hands found no purchase on the offending individual.

‘PEEVES!’ Jungkook roared to get his attention. ‘Put that inkwell down!,’ The first year had in that instant crawled away to the rest of the class trying to blend into the walls.

‘Kooooookie! Peeves hasn’t seen you in so long!’ he exclaimed cackling, his pale green skin glowing. The inkwell heavy and drooping in his careless hold. He had been kept under watch by the Bloody Baron but the Slytherin ghost wasn’t in the vicinity.

He floated closer to him upside down while he continued to throw ink at the children. The splatters of ink got on their robes and whenever something harder hit them like a chalk, there were shouts of distress.

‘Peeves, STOP.’ The poltergeist stuck out his tongue while throwing a red apple at him, he dodged it by a hair.

Nearly Headless Nick wasn’t successful either. ‘Sir Nick. Can you please call the other prefects or a teacher? I don’t think Peeves is going to stop soon,’

‘Yes, of course,’ he said, his head wobbling dangerously as he nodded.

The ghost floated away while Jungkook ran to stop the floating maniac from trying to lift a student up by the collar of his robes.

Minutes later, Laura arrived with her wand in her hand, Nick had seen her near the Great Hall and told her to come first. Jungkook was trying to curse Peeves who kept floating out of reach. His anger at the stupid policy over keeping Peeves in the castle grew. He was such a menace and they should have kicked him out long before.

‘Peeves, McGonagall will be here any minute. You better stop.’ Jungkook said only to receive another apple to the head. The pain briefly searing through him had him lifting his wand and throwing hexes after the lunatic, who was now screaming, ‘KOOKKKKIIIIIIEEEEEE’

‘COME BACK HERE, you filthy-’

‘CATCH me if you CAN KOOKIE. I heard you missed the snitch from right under your nose. Nose so large, I bet you couldn’t see past it,’ he teased, now using fruits like missiles.

Laura was seething because that meant Peeves had gone and terrorized the kitchens to steal from there. Her hair and hands were throbbing where Peeves had managed to hit her with the acorns. ‘Do you think it’s funny to steal from the kitchens Peeves? You are gonna be in such trouble. I swear,’

‘Aww, is nasty Drawcyyy rooting for House elves? Drawcyyyy …’

Just then there was a clinking sound of chains in the air, and the spinning poltergeist stopped and the projectile missiles of objects stopped as well. Peeves disregarded everyone in the castle with the exception of the Bloody Baron.

The place was a near mess before the poltergeist left them alone. Jungkook had a hand on his cheekbone where another fruit had hit him and Laura was leading the terrified first years to their classes. Jungkook watched her for a few moments, seeing a small worrying crease on her foreheads as she tried to make sure none of them were badly hurt.

_She isn’t that selfish… she does care about people who can’t protect themselves._

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Hans Zimmer - Davy Jones Guitar Cover by Leon Alex](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHT_rn4LCxs&ab_channel=LeonAlex) _

He smiled to himself softly and then turned the other way to go back to his dorms, reminding himself of his decision to not let his feelings grow, until he saw someone fall in step next to him. He looked down to see Laura’s small form.

Laura sighed stopping, ‘Wait, Jungkook.’ And he stopped, turning towards her. She was looking at his forehead and his cheekbone, reaching out her hand while examining the damage. Jungkook’s heart thumped against his chest at her cool fingers burning him. Her purple eyes flicked to his, her mouth slightly parted as it flickered downwards to his lips for the briefest of moments.

‘Does it sting?’ she asked quietly. The proximity making the question more intimate than their usual exchanges, Jungkook could only blink in response.  _Of course it does_  he wanted to say… when she looked at him like that, with her deep eyes, when he looked at what he could never have, of course it stung him to his very bones.

His wandering gaze settled on her slender fingers on the strands of her hair sticking to her neck. He watched without meaning to and she moved her hands to his forehead touching the wound again, pressing on it a meaningful smirk on her lips and a challenge in her eyes. Jungkook hissed, his strong eyebrows furrowed and caught her hand on his, squeezing her wrist to let her know he was not backing down.

Laura’s eyes brightened.

Jungkook was unravelling right before her eyes and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying it. She loved the attention from him. The way his eyes would darken if her fingertips so much as brushed lightly against his forearm. The corridor was empty as she pulled him down by his collar, making the distance nearly non-existent. Jungkook’s eyes were wide and hands locked at his side as he tried to keep the frown on his face, trying to breathe as her face got closer to his. But the thumping in his chest was making him breathless.

‘What?’ he asked pretending to be upset.

Laura didn’t say anything her hand now on the back of his neck, her eyes darting between his eyes and lips. But just as suddenly as she brought him down, her attention snapped to his cheek, examining the wound with tender fingers.

Jungkook was afraid to breathe. She was only looking at his wound, and that made him mad, made him want to make her look into his eyes again, press her against the wall and lift her neck so he could make her think only of him when he kissed her. But he was the only one getting worked up over her, she was still the same unwavering pond.

‘Hmmmm,’ She hummed, and the vibration near his ear nearly made him want to make true the image in his head.

She pushed him away from her and he straightened, trying to keep his dignity intact and not give Laura the pleasure of watching him crumble with a simple touch. He wondered, how long she would tease him.

‘It’s probably going to leave a mark,’ She said and a small smirk rose to her lips. Her words loaded with meaning.

His fists unfurled, his stance rigid, ‘Is it now?’ Jungkook taunted, broad body swallowing Laura's smaller frame. ‘Look’s like you’re worried about me,’

Jungkook smugly smirked, watching Laura's eyes darken, as she bit her lower lip, his proximity giving her nervous butterflies.

‘I can’t hold back anymore.’ He muttered, sending a shiver down her spine. ‘The problem is,’ he said as he leaned in, ‘If I kissed you, I don’t think I’d be able stop,’

Time stood still, the breaths caught in their throats. Laura froze, pupils dilating, making her eyes appear black, as she felt herself lose all her nerves. Did she hear him right? Her mind was blank from how close Jungkook’s body was to hers.

Jungkook realized the way she was shocked. He felt his breaths return to him, but the way his heart beat, he was going to hyperventilate. He took a step back, and then another until he was turning and running.

‘Jungkook,’ Laura called but her voice wouldn't go above a whisper. She saw his back disappear into an outer door, he had run into the rain. She walked behind him, but halted after a few steps. What was she about to ask him? No… she couldn't have heard it right. There was no way in the world, Jeon Jungkook would want to kiss her. Was it one of his stupid jokes? She walked out of the corridor, only to see that Jungkook had disappeared.

It's was incomprehensible to her… yet she longed to know the answer even though it shouldn't be so important to her. Jungkook had said all sorts of things to her to annoy her. Why should she want this time to be any different?

Jungkook ran around the castle, not caring about who saw him running alone in the rain like a maniac. He finally halted towards the back of the castle and slumped on to one of the broken garden benches, running his hands over his face, hoping the water would wash off the embarrassment but it wasn't ebbing away. His face burned, even in the cold rain, it burned. What had he done… her shock showed it all, the way he had totally embarrassed himself. What had he done...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) *again, pls don't kill me for that. I love you all so much*
> 
> Please check out the character mood boards I'm making! Feel free to comment your thoughts on them and show them your love! <3 <3
> 
> [Jungkook Character Moodboard](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1120947740492439552?s=20)
> 
> [Namjoon Character Moodboard](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1120947756137189376?s=20)


	15. Burns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you all by -  
> 1\. Jungkook's 'We Don't Talk Anymore'  
> 2\. Halsey's 'Colours'  
> 3\. Y'ALLS VOTES :P *I love you all very much*
> 
> Personal Sidenote-  
> I had mentioned this earlier that I don’t really label one of the 4 ships as the main ship. And I took one couple at a time to focus on. I realise that means that if that’s not your fav ship, then you do miss content about them. But I ask you to please be patient. I don’t want to have chunks of unconnected events happening, I don’t want to show things only from the surface and not dig deeper. In addition, the chapters are already quite long. It’s not possible for me to write about all of them at the same time. So if I’m not writing much about a ship *cough NamJin cough* please be patient. Each will happen at it’s time. I know I took it upon myself to write a multilayered plot but sometimes I struggle with the various events happening and what should fit where in the storyline. I’ll try my best to write it as well as I can. Thank you so much for your unending support! <3

Jungkook ran around the castle, not caring about who saw him running alone in the rain like a maniac. He finally halted towards the back of the castle and slumped on to one of the broken garden benches, running his hands over his face, hoping the water would wash off the embarrassment but it wasn't ebbing away. His face burned, even in the cold rain, it burned. What had he done… her shock showed it all, the way he had totally embarrassed himself. What had he done…

After several moments, Jungkook came back to his dorm, the embarrassment still flushing through his entire body. He felt like he had been slapped by a burning pan on both cheeks. Perhaps that would've been easier to bear than to contemplate what he had just done. He flopped on the bed, pushing his face into the pillow, wanting to one with the inanimate object.

‘You got drenched again? Go change before you get the blankets too wet,’ Yugyeom said from his desk. Astronomical instruments were spread across the table as he wrote his assignment.

Jungkook groaned in response.

‘Tired huh?’

There was a pause.

‘You were with Dracwyn weren’t you?’ Yugyeom asked.

Jungkook responded only after a while, peeling his face off the pillow and asking in a very curious tone, ‘Yeah… why?’

‘You are spending so much time with her. I thought you didn’t like her much,’ Yugyeom’s tone was not easily readable and Jungkook caught on to that. This didn’t seem like Yugyeom was trying to make casual conversation.

‘Why are you suddenly talking about this?’

‘No reason,’ Yugyeom said and a short silence fell on them again.

‘Yugyeom I know something is on your mind,’ Jungkook got off the bed and leaned himself on his roommate’s desk so that he could look at him. Yugyeom sighed and put his quill down, turning his torso on the chair so that he was facing Jungkook straight.

‘Just… don't get me wrong ok? I am only saying this because… I worry about you,’ Yugyeom said, his eyes looking carefully at Jungkook.

‘I know that… don't worry, tell me what is it?’

‘Well… I… I'm just a little worried, about you and… and Dracwyn,’ he finally said it with a lot of hesitation.

‘Me and Dracwyn!?’ Jungkook’s eyes widened. ‘Why on earth would you…’

‘Just… be careful ok? About… how close you let her come to you,’

‘Yugyeom,’ Jungkook looked away disbelievingly, irritation in his tone. ‘You don't even know Laura well enough too-’

‘You are right. I don't know her well enough. But I  _do_  know you. I've known you for the past 5 years. And… I know you are into her, quiet into her,’

The irritation on Jungkook’s face was instantly replaced by shock.

‘It's not that hard to tell. Probably she knows it as well,’

‘No… I… I hardly doubt that,’ Jungkook was panicking.  _Am I that obvious? No it can’t be… can it? Well not after what you just did you idiot._ His hands went to run over his face again. He felt like he would explode.

‘And I know how you get when you are really into something. You do anything for it… I don't want you to make any mistakes when it comes to her. Coz I know the competition between you two, about who's better, about who has the last word… and I know you will regret it later if you let yourself be fooled by her,’

‘Do you think I’m so easily fooled? Yugyeom I didn't think of you as being prejudiced towards her. Why do you think she’d wanna fool me? Because she's a Slytherin?’

‘It's not because she's a Slytherin Jungkook. Remember the reasons you didn't like her all these years. You used to complain about her very existence… you used to complain a lot, because she is biased to her house, because she treats everyone as inferior to her, she doesn't care for others. Have you forgotten all that?’

‘I haven't forgotten, but those were all misunderstandings from my side. She is not selfish like I used to thinks she is,’ Jungkook said, recalling how just few minutes back she was escorting the frightened little first years away from Peeves. She could’ve just pointed to a door and sent them their way but she made sure the injured ones were being taken to Pomfrey with a fellow student. And she didn’t see the color of their robes when doing that.

‘Well, she’s not a saint either. The only change I have seen in her is that she is friends with Taehyung now, and for the life of me I’m unable to guess why. How can they be friends all of a sudden? Anyways, back to what I was saying… now that your misconceptions are busted you think you have a chance with her? You are forgetting her upbringing,’

‘And what about her upbringing?’

‘Jungkook, you and your mother are the only wizards in your family… so you may not have realized how these noble purebloods are brought up, what kind of principles are embedded in them since they learn how to speak. I have a cousin who married into a noble pure blood family, the Rosiers. That’s Laura’s father’s family isn’t it. So I know what goes on in their houses,’

‘Enlighten me?’ Jungkook crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

‘They might be tolerant of muggle born wizards but they don't consider them equal. Muggles are on a lower tier for them, even if they don't blatantly discriminate against them. There are two types of noble purebloods Jungkook. There are families like the Kims who seem like they are benevolent to all muggles and muggle borns, but even they would not mix their blood. They consider themselves higher than others, consider themselves as giving and helpful to the lesser sections of the society. Count the number of people Kim Seokjin has dated. There are none. Why? Coz he is of the noblest of birth and he is probably not allowed to get involved with anyone,’

Jungkook looked away as more and more of Yugyeom’s words started to make sense to him. Of course it was all true. It's not like Jin had lack of people interested in him… rather he had more than plenty, from all sorts of families, whether muggle born or noble.

‘And then there are pure bloods like the Blacks, the Min-Dracwyns, the Malfoys who stay away from even half bloods,’ Yugyeom continued. ‘They do not like to associate with people lower than their aristocratic level. Why do you think Dracwyn always stuck to her tight circle? Because that's what her family taught her. Do you really think her mind will even consider someone like us? It's like we are not even part of that higher world of theirs,’

‘It doesn't always have to be like that Yugyeom. Laura is friends with Tae, with Emina… and they are half blood and muggle born. You can't tell me she's prejudiced,’

‘Yeah she's ‘friends’ with them. But you want to be more than just friends don't you?’ Yugyeom said and Jungkook looked away, pressing his tongue to his cheek. ‘Listen… you know her better than I do. I'm just telling you to be careful… don't forget the things I've told you, that's all,’

Jungkook rolled his eyes, his jaw hardening.

‘I'm only looking out for you,’ Yugyeom said. ‘And all these things I hear about the Min-Dracwyns, I dunno what to believe coz you are their friend and I don’t want to believe you would befriend someone like that,’

‘And what did you hear this time?’

‘That Laura Dracwyn is playing you and Graham Montague for attention. Montague has been after her for years but she doesn't let him off the hook, neither does she date him. She gives him just enough to keep him coming back for more. Her stunt with Jin didn't work out if Rita Skeeter is to be believed so she's probably back to seeking attention from Montague,’

Jungkook’s jaw silently worked. Whatever he heard was filling him rage.. and insecurity.

‘Ok who told you all this Yugyeom?’ Jungkook asked with furrowed brows. ‘Coz I know you aren't someone to listen to gossip,’

Yugyeom sighed. ‘Promise me you won't tell her?’

Jungkook didn't need to confirm who Yugyeom was referring to. He pinched his nose bridge, trying to be patient. ‘Sierra? Really? She's been telling you all this stuff?’

‘No you are getting it wrong. She didn't tell me, I had to get it out of her coz she looked very worried. She had the same fear that I do. She was only worried for you because she knows how much time you spend with her. We all have seen it,’

Jungkook’s ears turned red in embarrassment.

‘She was genuinely concerned for you,’ Yugyeom said. ‘Don't get mad at her? She said she's been hearing such rumours among the girls since a while and she hopes they aren't true but wants you to be careful. That's all,’

After that revelation, and the incidents of the day, it was hardly possible for Jungkook to behave normally. He sat in the common room by himself, near the tallest window because staying in the same room as Yugyeom annoyed him. Sierra came in, smiling at him but Jungkook was rather silent, his eyes dull and expressionless. Seirra came and sat in front of him, keeping a hand on the textbook he was flipping so that he would put it down and pay attention to her.

‘Jungkook, I know something is wrong. You know you can always talk to me right?’

‘I know that… thanks for being there… but there’s nothing really,’

‘Stop lying. You always lie to me. As if I can't see through you. Why do you underestimate how much I care for you? You know what I will do anything to see you happy!’

‘What?’ a confounded Jungkook looked up.

‘Jungkook… I… I want you to share your problems with me. I can help you solve them or at least be there with you through it,’

‘Seirra.. that’s really nice of you but there's no problem right now,’

She took his hand in hers. Jungkook was now getting curious as to what were these new developments.

‘Ok forget about it. I won't bug you anymore. Do you wanna… go have a drink at the 3 Broomsticks?’ She asked, her fingers playing with his, eyes trained at their feet.

‘Go for drinks?’

‘Yeah… I mean, just the 2 of us. If you’d like to. It would be nice. I'd like to spend some time alone with you,’

Was she asking him out? What was he supposed to do? Or did she want to just hang out and he was reading too much into it? Well, no friend of his had held his hand like this before. Well, except Taehyung… but that’s TaeTae.

‘Just the 2 of us?’ He asked again, his coconut head too thick to understand.

‘Let me know tomorrow. You are tired now. I'm sleepy as well. I'll see you tomorrow?’ She didn't look him in the eye and had a shy smile on her face. She slightly ruffled his hair and went to her dorm.

Jungkook sat there all alone, in a sea of confusion.

What just happened?

He ran to their club room, hoping either Namjoon or Jin would be there and to his relief, Namjoon sat on the couch reading a book. He sprinted to him and threw himself onto the older’s lap.

‘Woah Jungkookie!’ Namjoon was startled. ‘Where you in the rain? What happened?’ He placed a hand on the younger’s head, stroking him lightly.

‘I don't know…’ Jungkook mumbled, face again pressed into Namjoon’s lap. The older chuckled seeing how adorable the boy was being was being.

‘What did you do?’ Namjoon asked, having his suspicions that this was related to the new feelings that seem to have emerged in Jungkook for a certain Slytherin.

‘I….’ Jungkook wanted to tell him but that the same time his tongue felt numb. ‘I may have… said something… to someone,’

‘What did you say?’

‘Said out… what I feel… might not have been appropriate… I don't know,’ he rolled further into his lap.

‘It's ok, to speak out your feelings. I'm sure you didn't do or say anything inappropriate Kookie,’

‘What if… she got offended,’

‘Well how did she react?’ Namjoon didn't need to ask him who ‘she’ was for he very well suspected it was Dracwyn.

‘She didn't say anything… and then I ran away. I couldn't stay there in front of her,’

‘Well… see if she responds to whatever you said. Don't be nervous,’

‘How can I not be nervous… she makes my insides combust,’

Namjoon chuckled and stroked his hair again. ‘It's ok…’ he said. ‘It's ok to feel like you are going to combust. Sometimes it's the best feeling in the world,’

‘Do you feel like that too?’ Jungkook asked in a small voice and Namjoon wondered who did Jungkook think he was crushing on.

‘I'm not alien to it,’ Namjoon said, the image of Jin’s lush lips instantly coming to mind… of how he was so close but yet Namjoon couldn’t touch them. He blinked and shook his head. ‘Ok, get up and listen to me,’

Jungkook slowly hoisted up, face flushed red and hair messed up. His eyes were trained on his fidgeting hands and he had a cute pout on his lips.

‘You made the first step, now wait for her to respond,’ Namjoon said.

‘What if she doesn't?’ Jungkook asked.

‘Then we’ll try a different approach. Be confident, don’t worry about failure. You’ll regret if you… if you never tried,’ Namjoon said, knowing how much easier it was to preach than to practice. Here he was advising Jungkook when he hadn’t been able to take things any further with Jin… even though, by some turn of events, things had progressed than what they were last year. Now Namjoon didn’t hesitate to hold Jin’s hand or any other kind of skinship. Often one of them was in the other’s bed, talking till late and falling asleep together… Did Jin realise all that was happening? Would they have a future knowing how much Jin’s father disliked Namjoon? Maybe they weren’t naming their relationship for fear of having to answer the people who will be against it, fear of the impending separation, the hard choices he would put Jin through for the sake of him.

*

Jimin sat on the Slytherin table, staring at his dinner. His appetite had reduced to half. He sighed, pushing his plate away and Snape passed him, giving him a curt nod. He knew by now what that meant, he was to meet Snape after dinner.

‘Here,’ Snape handed Jimin a new bottle of wolfsbane. ‘Double your doses till the full moon passes. You will be escorted to the Shrieking Shack that night. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe there,’

‘Is there anything that can trigger the Lycanthropy in him otherwise?’ Ash asked.

‘Nothing that I know of. You might feel aggressive and agitated till the moon wanes into a Gibbous. So be careful of your moods,’ Snape said.

'What about other wolves?' Jimin asked. 'We hear wolves howl sometimes, especially near the full moon. Will that affect me?'

'There was a student before you, who used the Shrieking Shack as a safe place to transform. I never heard of any complications arising due to the forest wolves. Those wolves in the forest... they are intelligent. They don't cross out of their territory, much like the Centaurs,'

‘Alright,’ Jimin stood up to leave, rolling down his sleeve from where Snape had drawn some of his blood. ‘Thank you professor,’

Snape nodded and opened his door for them.

‘Ash, I should tell the others,’ Jimin said as they walked back to the common room.

‘Others who?’

‘Namjoon, Jungkook… the trust circle. I hate hiding this from them. So I’ll see you later,’

‘Are you sure? Do you want us to be there?’

Jimin shook his head, ‘They’ve been my friends since the first time I saw the Hogwarts Express. I want to speak to them alone,’

He called his friends to the club room and all filed in one by one. They all looked worried about his current state and Jimin wished they wouldn’t look at him with so much concern. He wanted things to be normal. Taehyung sat beside him, holding his hand in his. Jimin gulped, telling them the events of the past two months, ending with what was coming for him in a week. A heavy silence weighed all around them once Jimin finished speaking.

‘I… I had noticed you weren’t keeping well,’ Hoseok said. ‘Jimin… we are here for you, no matter what,’

‘It took you so long to trust us?’ Namjoon asked. ‘Did you think we would…’

‘That’s not what I thought,’ Jimin said. ‘You know what a mess we came out from a month ago. Taehyung’s powers, the Wizengamot, Jin’s comatose, the whole incident that happened with Ash and Hoseok. I did not even want to think of my Lycanthropy then,’

‘Maybe we can get some healers. You haven’t transformed yet, I’m sure there’s a way,’ Jungkook said. ‘Jin’s father should know the best healers shouldn’t he?’

‘My father...’ Jin shook his head. _He will tell me to be as far away and as uninvolved with Jimin’s situation as possible. A werewolf wasn’t worthy in his eyes._

‘I spoke to Snape regarding healers,’ Jimin said. This is no work for a usual Lycan healer. I was infected by Skoll,’

‘What about Skoll’s body when he was killed here?’ Namjoon asked. ‘Does nothing remain?’

‘The surest way to kill a werewolf is to burn them,’ Jimin said. ‘And a powerful one like Skoll… there was no time wasted to burn him before he somehow regenerated and healed himself. Nothing remains,’

‘If Jimin goes away right now to somehow be cured, everyone’s suspicion about him being a werewolf will get a confirmation,’ Taehyung said. ‘Of course people are going to notice his absence in the middle of the 6th year. You know the stigma with werewolves. He will be under the shadow of doubt his whole life. We have to think this through,’

‘Jimin…’ Jungkook held his hand. His dark eyes were glistening. ‘You know we are always there right? We’ll find a way, we aren’t going anywhere. You have us,’

Jimin smiled at Jungkook being emotional. He knew their friendship was deep but they were never verbal about it. ‘Never heard you talk so sentimentally,’

Jungkook blinked like he was going to cry. ‘You moron! Go away I don’t want you!’

‘Jungkookie are you crying?’ Jimin hugged him, patting his head. ‘Little Jungkookie,’

‘I am not little! You are little-er! You bean sized.. you…’

But Jimin could feel Jungkook’s breaths getting slightly heavy as he pressed his face against Jimin’s chest. ‘You are a moron,’ Jungkook mumbled. ‘You didn’t tell me,’

‘I am a moron… I’m sorry,’ Jimin said softly and continued to pat Jungkook’s head. ‘I didn’t want to worry you,’

*

‘Miss Vorhart, this is becoming very irresponsible of you,’ Ash heard those words for probably the third time this week and she didn’t like it one bit. She had heard these words before when she had let her focus be on quidditch rather than on academics but she didn’t mind whatever reprimanding she got for her late assignments or work not being good enough because she owned up to her fault. Right now, it was none of her fault. She had worked hard on those assignments and almost all of them had gotten destroyed.

‘I really do not understand what’s wrong,’ McGonagall continued, looking at her sternly over her spectacles. ‘This is your sixth year Vorhart, you cannot possibly think of giving your NEWTS next year if your performance is like this,’

‘Professor,’ Ash closed her eyes with a deep breathe.

‘Is there something wrong Vorhart, because if there’s something stopping you from focusing on your studies then you can let me know,’

‘I don’t think you’d believe me even if I told you,’ Ash said, seeing no way out.

‘Well we won’t know until you do,’ McGonagall folded one hand over the other on the table. ‘Tell me,’

‘I had completed all my assignments, not just in Transfiguration, but in all my other classes. I had done my best. And someone stole them and destroyed all of them. I found pieces of my assignment in the girl’s bathroom on the second floor,’

McGonagall’s eyebrows arched higher and higher.

‘Miss Vorhart, are you saying someone is sabotaging your work?’

‘Yes. Someone really is,’

‘I know there is competition between students but… I don’t ever expect students of this school to behave in such a deplorable way,’

‘I told you, you won’t believe me,’

‘I wouldn’t believe you otherwise but I know you’re not a nonsensical person,’ McGonagall said. ‘But at the same time, you’re past your submission date Vorhart. I will have to deduct marks unless you bring me proof of why I should give you a re-submission,’

Ash almost curled her lips in. Why should she lose marks for no fault of hers? ‘Professor please you have to be fair!’

‘And I will be fair Vorhart, but I need proof of what’s true,’

‘Are you telling me to get you proof?’

‘As long as you don’t break any school rules,’ McGonagall said and then suddenly regretted it. Telling a Slytherin or a Gryffindor to follow rules was futile. Slytherins only followed their own code (and they followed it to their last breath) while Gryffindors really don’t care about what they think is not right. ‘Just… please don’t cause any more trouble’ she said in defeat. ‘It’s late, head to your dorms,’

‘Professor I hope you know Park Jimin is being bullied,’ Ash said with resolute eyes. ‘For no fault of his. It wasn’t his fault he fought a werewolf. He did it to save the students of this castle. Whether you believe my claim about what’s happening to me, please believe that Jimin doesn’t deserve this,’

McGonagall looked at Ash with understanding. ‘He doesn’t deserve that, you’re right. If it happens again, please come to me,’

Ash collected a copy of her results, this was the lowest she had ever scored and she was filled with frustration. She headed to the common room where Montague had thrown a party in compensation for his terrible performance in potions. Ash was dragged into the celebrations though she was in no mood.

Jimin was sitting in a corner in the underwater section, against one of the green windows. He looked at his reflection, turning his eyes away from it quickly. He looked like hell, and Jimin was someone who took care of his appearance everyday. His skin was pale, he had lost weight, eyes tired, lips chapped. In a way he wanted the full moon to come and go as soon as possible so that he wouldn’t have to look at himself like this. He saw Ash come in, she looked beautiful as she always did. He waved at her but the wave he got back from her lacked the usual enthusiasm. It was rather queasy and strained. And after that Jimin thought it’s better if he locked himself in his room until the full moon because everything was frustrating him. Ash watched him go to his dorm without sparing her another glance.

‘Hey Ash c’mon you haven’t even had a drink!’ Klaus was pulling her toward where some of them were playing a drinking game.

‘Stop it Klaus!’ Ash snapped, pulling her arm back. ‘I told you I’m in no fucking mood! Don’t push it, don’t you get it?’

Klaus looked stunned. The boy was rarely on the receiving end of Ash’s temper. He backed off apologetically and Ash wanted to beat herself up for her temper.

‘Sorry,’ she said softly. ‘I’m just not in the mood right now,’

‘It’s alright. I just thought you’ll feel better if you played with us a bit,’

‘No I just want to be left alone I guess,’

‘Ok, I won’t push it then,’ Klaus smiles slightly and left. Ash’s eyes automatically sought Jimin and realised he had left. He didn’t want to be a part of the party either? Her eyes glanced over Laura who looked like her conscious was in another dimension as she sat with a drink in hand, eyes staring into some dark abyss. Yoongi was sloshed and asleep on the couch and so Ash decided to pay Jimin a visit to check on him.

Jimin lay on his bed, emerald blanket pulled up to his lips. He tossed and turned, trying to get some sleep but the music from the common room faintly filtered in. There was a knock on the door.

‘C’min,’ Jimin said and Ash stood at the door frame.

‘Ash?’ He was surprised. She usually never came to the boy’s dorm.

‘I was looking for you. You don’t want to party either?’ She walked to his bed and sat beside him. Jimin pulled the blanket up to his nose.

‘No… I just thought maybe I should stay in,’ he mumbled.

Ash chuckled ‘Why are you mumbling,’ she softly pulled the blanket down but Jimin pulled it back up, turning away.

‘Jiminnie?’

‘I look terrible right now,’ he mumbled again.

‘I disagree but what’s your point?’

Jimin sighed, curling up.

‘Do you not want me here?’ Ash asked. ‘I want to be here, with you unless you want me to go,’

‘I never said that,’

Ash leaned forward, arms coming on either side on his frame and kissed him.

‘They might be prickly,’ Jimin muttered.

‘Need a chapstick?’ Ash digged into her pocket and retrieved a berry flavoured one. But instead of putting it on Jimin, she lined her lips with it.

Jimin’s eyes widened in question ‘I thought I needed it,’

Ash moved over to straddle him and pressed her lips to his, rubbing their noses together while she left soft pecks on him. ‘They don’t prick me, they’re rather pillowy,’ she grazed her teeth over his lower lip. ‘Do you know how much I think about your lips all day long?’

That finally made Jimin smile. He slide his hands around her waist and they continued to kiss, tongues slithering together. Ash tugged and moved away the blanket that was tangling between them and pulled up Jimin’s shirt, sliding it off his head. Jimin’s hands were roaming under her shirt, unhooking her bra to feel her smooth back without hindrance. Ash pulled back, her eyes sultry. Fingers grazing over his bare chest, she went to her own shirt, unbuttoning it and taking it off. Jimin’s grey eyes looked her up, from her stomach, up to the ascent of her breasts and into her green eyes which sparkled like dark water in the sun. His lips parted, wanting to attach itself over every part of her bare body.

Ash’s hands proceeded to the sliding straps of her pink bra. ‘Should I?’ She asked. ‘Only if you want this right now,’

‘I want it,’ Jimin nodded. ‘But… maybe… maybe let’s just be gentle. You’re very well capable of overworking my mind, heart and breaths,’

Ash giggled at that and slid the bra off. Jimin didn’t shy away from looking at her. His eyes followed the rise and fall of her breaths, and a hand stretched out to feel those breasts. His fingertips caressed the soft skin, curving in from her sides to the center, his thumb softly rubbed over her dark nubs and he breathed in. Ash moved closer, making him cup her breasts and kissed him fervently. She sucked downwards, tongue laving over his collarbones.

‘Next week… once this is all over,’ her wet mouth fanned hot air over his skin. ‘I have plans,’

‘What plans?’ Jimin breathed.

‘First plan is to have you completely naked,’ her mouth sucked on his smooth shoulder, ‘on your stomach so that I can appreciate your ass properly,’ her hands grabbed him from behind. ‘Then when I’m done with that, to turn you to the front and appreciate everything else to my heart’s content,’ she kissed his chest. ‘I’ll be taking my time so you better be patient,’

‘And if I’m not? If I push you back and pin you down?’

Her fingers lightly pinched his left nipple, just enough to make him gasp.

‘I’ll fight my way back up,’ she said and Jimin giggled. He turned her over, mouth attaching to hers again. All the hot talk and her being in control was driving him over the edge, his head felt dizzy.

‘But for now, we go gentle,’ Jimin said and laid his head over her chest, soft cheeks squishing over her supple breasts. Ash carded her fingers through his hair.

‘Don’t worry babe,’ she said. ‘It will all be over soon. And then we can do all the things we want,’

‘Sometimes,’ Jimin’s voice dropped to a low rumble, ‘Sometimes… I can’t believe you’re still here. That you all are here. Sometimes I wonder if I deserve it. I’ll always be thankful to that first day this year when I finally managed to talk to you,’

‘Jiminnie,’ Ash wrapped her arms tighter around him. His words were tearing up her eyes in her emotional state and she wasn’t someone who cried easily. She was still here, with him in his problems. Even she couldn’t exactly point out what was making her stay.

She remembered Laura’s nonchalant comment from a few days ago -  _‘coz you’re in love with Jimin,’_

Ash didn’t know what love was. Every older person had told her you won’t know real love when you’re young. Everything is infatuation at this age. But Ash wondered if infatuation really had the power to make her stay without any desire to leave despite everything.

‘Goodnight my baby,’ she felt Jimin’s lips curve into a smile over her skin and she pulled the blanket back over them.

‘Goodnight,’

Back in the common room, Laura was somewhat glad for this distraction of a party. She smiled lightly seeing how the juniors were having fun around her. She was already three drinks down and had a blanked out buzz. She had been quite and to herself all day, which resulted in Yoongi incessantly asking her what was wrong. She was twirling the stirrer in her drink, eyes staring blank at the wall in front of her. A fireball fight broke out in front of her and she still didn't pay it heed.

_If I kissed you I wouldn't be able to stop._

Did she hear him right? That was impossible. Maybe he said miss… not that that word makes any sense. Maybe she heard the whole thing wrong. But why did he come so close to her? Speaking in a whisper for only her to hear. Jungkook was confusing her beyond all her wits. Why had he become such a contradiction? They still fought like they used to… he still found a way to annoy her everyday. And when he wouldn't be around she would miss him so much that she felt like combusting. This contradiction was baffling her.

An array of thoughts filled her mind, of his strong hands pulling her close and his lips pressed on hers… it's like she already knew how delicious he would taste. And suddenly that's all she could think of, unable to break away from the building tingles in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to taste his lips, know how that cocky tongue felt rolling against-

A loud crash brought her back to reality. The boys on the underwater floor had broken a statue of Merlin and were now looking at each other’s faces in guilt.

‘That's enough!’ She yelled, getting to her feet, prefect face on. ‘NO MORE FIRE!’ She stomped purposefully to the mess but something hit the side of her face painfully. Her ankle gave away and she fell down the stairs to the underwater section.

‘Dracwyn!’ Some concerned students rushed to help her but Montague cut through them like he was waiting for an opportunity to be of help to her. He hoisted her up. Laura was clutching the left of her face, eyes stinging in the burn.

‘All of you out!’ Montague roared at the juniors. ‘Put those fireballs out right now! How could you be so careless?’

‘Oh no!’ One of the juniors yelped, covering his mouth in shock and fear. ‘We are so sorry! We-’

‘Out I said! Clear the couch, now!’ Montague was furious at them all. The juniors scurried out of the room and Montague carried Laura to the couch, placing her carefully on the cushioned seat.

‘Let me see,’ he said in a gentler voice.

‘No! No,’ Laura was firm. ‘I am fine,’ but she was far from fine. She was scared some of the embers from the fireball had flown into her eye. She blinked, eyes watering with the burn and it wasn't receding.

‘When will you stop lying that you are ok? I can see you are in pain,’

‘But I will be alright,’

‘Not without help. Can you for once… just let me help you? If you got hurt in your eye, it's dangerous. Let me take you to Pomfrey,’

‘It's pricking,’ Laura finally confessed, feeling too helpless at the situation. She had to put her pride down before she turned blind in one eye.

‘Let me see it,’ his hands were soft as he held the back of her head. Pulling her lower lid down softly, he checked to see the damage.

‘Your eyes are red but I don’t see any blood clots. Just close your eyes and let's go to Pomfrey,’

‘Alright,’

‘Can you walk?’ Montague asked and Laura lied again, nodding her head but when she couldn't move her injured ankle even an inch, Montague held her hand and escorted her out of the room. 

‘It would be easier if I carry you,’

‘Not when we are surrounded by people,’ she murmured through the pain.

Once they were out of the common room, she let Montague put an arm around her waist to help her walk till the infirmary.

‘Is your cheek burning too?’ He asked.

‘Yeah…’ she said in a dry voice. Walking through the empty and dark corridors, the pain was making her dizzy and she really felt like passing out right now would be a relief because the pain was nearly unbearable. She wished she could pull a levitating spell but she had no mind space for it.

‘Who’s there?’ They heard a shrill female voice. Laura faintly recognised it and would’ve rolled her eyes if she could. The person appeared on the turn of the corridor.

‘Oh am I interrupting something?’ Sierra asked, her wand lit and face malicious.

‘Go away Sierra. I don't have time for you,’ Laura murmured.

‘Listen we are just heading to the infirmary,’ Montague said to her. ‘Just carry on with your rounds,’

‘Infirmary, sure. Looks like someone’s had a lot to drink,’

‘Don't poke your nose where it doesn't belong,’ Laura snapped at her.

‘No no… go do your thing… whatever the two of you are up to,’ Sierra smiled tightly and left.

The Ravenclaw rounded up and walked back to where Jungkook was doing his rounds. She had to time her actions, hoping everything fell as per her plan.

‘Guess who I saw lurking in the darkness, all over each other?’ She said non-chalantly.

‘Who?’ Jungkook chuckled, wondering if it was Hoseok and Yoongi.

‘Montague. With that Dracwyn,’ she said, watching his reaction from the corner of her eye. Jungkook looked like he’d seen death. His face was daunted, eyes wide in utter shock.

‘No. You saw it wrong,’ he said in a tone spelling denial.

‘No of course not. I even spoke to them. Laura was so dazed and impatient so I just said alright go do your thing I'm not interfering your privacy,’ Sierra held up her hands.

‘Where did you see them?’ Jungkook’s shock turned to fury.

‘Right in the next corridor,’ Sierra said and before she could stop him, Jungkook had taken off. Sierra ran behind him, hoping to stop him at the right time. And luck was on her side. Both saw Montague and Laura disappear into the south wing, his arm around her waist. Jungkook felt like the breath had been knocked out of him, his stomach heavy like lead. No.. he must've mistaken that dark haired Slytherin girl for someone else… except scents don't lie and he could smell the lingering notes of lilies, frankincense and musk throughout the corridor. His legs stopped on their own, unable to move out of fear.

‘Jungkook! What is wrong with you!’ Sierra was at his side, whispering and pulling him back. ‘What is it to you, whatever they do? Huh? Why are you so shocked?’

Jungkook looked at his fellow prefect. How was he to tell her that Laura was capable was ripping his heart right out of his chest. Maybe he misread the situation. Why would Laura be with Montague? Well… why wouldn't she be? Not like he knew anything of her personal preferences or what went on in the Slytherin common room. He knew nothing… he knew nothing. The same haunting fear crawled back into him… that Laura would anyday go to a pure blood Slytherin than come to him. That's what her upbringing was no matter how much he turned a blind eye to it.

‘Jungkook!’ She shook him. ‘Why do you always leave your duties for her? Why are you affected by what Dracwyn does?’

‘I'm not…’ Jungkook lied. ‘I'm not,’

‘Do you wanna head back to the dorm?’ She asked, making her voice gentler. ‘Lets go sleep. Maybe we all are tired,’ she smiled at him. Jungkook nodded and they left for their rooms. Seirra kept glancing at him, feeling satisfied with herself about how she had almost removed Laura from Jungkook’s life. She didn’t like to see Jungkook sad but she kept telling herself she would soon make it better and make him much happier than Laura ever could.

Next morning, Sierra made sure she met Jessica Simpson early in the morning.

‘So, I heard a rumour,’ the Ravenclaw prefect started.

When Jungkook headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, all around him he could hear a buzz of words.

‘They were caught snogging in the south wing,’

‘Really? By who?’

‘By Pomfrey herself!’

‘It was bound to happen. Dracwyn’s been keeping him on the hook since years. I’m not even surprised,’

Jungkook didn’t want to hear anymore for the sake of his own sanity. He didn’t want to hear any of this. He needed to speak to someone he could trust.

He finally found Jimin, walking in the corridor. He ran to him frantically, blocking his way.

‘Where were you? I'm been looking all over!’ He yelled.

‘Woah, Kookie… low voices… baaad hangover,’ Jimin rubbed his eyes. ‘Shouldn’t have taken alcohol while on wolfsbane,’ he muttered.

‘Hangover? You guys partied last night?’

‘What happened to you?’ Jimin was starting to worry.

‘What happened at the party? What is everyone talking about?’ Jungkook held him by the shoulders. If he didn't get his answers right then, he felt his heart would burst.

‘Many things happened. What is everyone saying?’

‘Laura! What happened between her and Montague!’

‘I don't know,’

‘Where they close?’

‘I wasn’t in the room Kookie. But I don’t think anything happened,’

‘People are talking otherwise. And I saw them alone in the castle corridors,’

‘Why don’t you ask her yourself?’

Jungkook’s face turned red like a tomato. How was he to even get the words out to Laura after having said what he said yesterday.

‘Are you ok?’ Jimin asked him, shaking him by the shoulder. Jungkook didn't answer him but just walked away.

Jungkook was terrible at confrontations. He ran away from it and to emotionally confront Laura who made all his courage disappear into the air… it was impossible for him. He felt suffocated just thinking about it. But as fate would have it, he heard her voice from a classroom, along with someone else’s.

‘It makes me dizzy Montague,’ she said softly. ‘I'm still hungover,’

When Jungkook inched closer to the door and peeked in, he saw Laura sitting on a desk and Montague kneeling in front of her, holding one of her feet in his hand. Laura drank something from a bottle and her face scrunched up. Montague chuckled fondly at that.

‘Stop laughing if you want me to have this,’ she said with raise eyebrows but her face didn't show reproach. She noticed someone on the door and turned to find Jungkook’s head.

At being caught, Jungkook straightened up.

‘Jeon!’ Montague called him out. ‘Did you need something?’

‘No,’ Jungkook raised his eyebrows, his cold mask coming on for Montague. ‘I heard voices and as a prefect, it's my duty to check. This is an abandoned part of the castle,’

‘Jungkook?’ Laura was startled, eyes wide purple.

Jungkook gritted his teeth seeing the proximity between the two. ‘Be careful you aren't caught by a staff,’ and he stormed out of the room.

‘Jungkook!’ he heard her call again and turned sharply.

‘What?!’ he realised he almost yelled and that made Laura take a step back.

‘Why are you angry?’ she asked him.

What was he to answer when his heart had clearly been broken just now. He turned away and walked off.

His eyes can't lie again and again. People’s words telling the same story must have some amount of truth to it. This is what it was. This was Laura Dracwyn. And he was a fool. A mad fool to think there was even a small possibility that she would feel the same way for him. They didn't even belong to the same world. Yugyeom was right.

He stormed towards his house tower, colliding with a group of students leaving for Hogsmeade. One of the boys in the group of Hufflepuffs caught him by the shoulder, trying to break the fall from the force.

‘Jeon Jungkook?’ The 4th year Hufflepuff said curiously, seeing the angry and flustered prefect. ‘Is everything ok?’

‘Yeah,’ Jungkook nodded and then stepped aside, watching the juniors walk out of the main doors and saw Sierra sitting on one of the benches near the door. Some of her girlfriends were around her but they waved her goodbye and left for Hogsmeade as well. She sat there alone, looking unsure and playing with her fingers until she looked up and saw him. She smiled nervously, pushing a lock of light brown hair behind her ear and waved at him. Something about Jungkook’s expression made her frown in worry. She walked towards him.

‘Jungkook what happened? You look so worried,’ she asked, grey eyes watching him carefully.

Jungkook blinked a few times. His emotions were raw on his face and he didn't like that. And for the first time he wasn't able to help himself. He wanted it to all stop. Wanted to stop feeling anything and everything.

‘Lets go,’ he said, anger, jealousy and frustration overriding everything else. ‘Lets go to Hogsmeade,’

Sierra’s face lit up like she had seen fireworks on Christmas. She smiled wide, unable to contain any of her happiness, the joy she felt of finally having what she had wanted for so many years. She held his arm and both walked out of the doors.

*

*

*

‘JUNGKOOK AND WHO?!’ Laura’s voice thundered in the common room. Everyone’s head turned to look at her with curiosity. Ash sensed the poking eyes and stood right in front of Laura so that no one could see her. Laura straightened herself, hoping to keep her composure but the mask was slowly clumbering away.

‘Let’s go in,’ Ash whispered to her.

‘Why… why do we need to go in. I just want to confirm what I heard. It's no big deal,’ she said, trying her best to act nonchalant when everything inside her was crushing on itself. Her close friends could read right through that. ‘Who’s Jungkook dating?’

‘Sierra and Jungkook might be dating,’ Terrance continued. ‘It's no surprise really, they’ve always been so close,’ he shrugged, unaware of the tension.

‘Yes, always,’ Laura said in a shaky, high pitched voice while her face was pretending to be normal. ‘Shouldn't be a surprise at all. How do you know though? Did you see them?’

‘Yeah. They were walking arm in arm in Hogsmeade,’

Laura’s eyes looked like a storm was brewing within them. Her lips pulled up in a wry smile. ‘They're perfect aren't they?’ She laughed dryly. ‘Well I should get back to my assignments,’ and she turned away but Ash could see how tightly she was gripping the strap of her bag, her knuckles so white like they would tear out of her skin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moodboards part 2 :)
> 
> [Seokjin Character Moodboard](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1122199357694959616?s=20)
> 
> [Laura Character Moodboard](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1122199367845158913?s=20)


	16. Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning :P - Don't expect LauKook in this one

‘Why is he so close to him?’ Yoongi eyes looked with suspicion across the table. Hoseok had come to meet Jungkook on the Ravenclaw table but currently his attention was taken up by Yugyeom who had a hand on Hoseok’s back. Yoongi stabbed his steak with the fork ‘It’s like he can’t keep his hands off Hobi,’

‘Mmhmm,’ Laura aggressively cut through her pie, eye trained hard on Sierra’s hand that currently rested on Jungkook’s shoulder. She was fuming head to toe, jealousy making her nearly crazy.

‘Do you.. Do you think Yugyeom likes Hobi? Is that it?’ Yoongi was still contemplating. ‘Oh wow, really? He’s gonna grab his waist now?’

‘At least they didn’t go on a fucking date,’ Laura said and Yoongi looked at her.

Laura rolled her eyes, putting the knife down. ‘Would you relax, Yugyeom is just good friends with Hoseok, since years!’

‘Maybe Hobi needs a reminder,’

‘What reminder-‘

‘A reminder of who he belongs to,’ Yoongi smirked.

Laura scrunched her nose ‘Gross I don’t wanna hear of whatever games you two play to keep things interesting. Are you really worried about Hoseok?’ Laura asked. ‘He doesn’t look like someone who’d cheat,’

‘That’s not what I’m worried about… well… I mean, I’m just… possessive,’

Laura rolled her eyes again.

‘You wouldn’t know,’ Yoongi said. ‘Not until you like someone,’ and he saw the way Laura’s lip pursed.

‘Is it true? What I’ve been hearing?’ He asked her.

‘And what is that?’

‘Heard you and Montague…’

Laura’s brows contracted, expression completely taken aback and saw Yoongi breathe a sigh of relief.

‘Ah thank god! I don’t like Montague. I mean, he’s alright once you get to know him but I wish you get someone more… more… sensitive,’

‘Sensitive?’

‘Yeah, so that I know he will take care of you,’

‘I don’t think there’s anyone like-‘

‘Jungkook is nice,’ Yoongi said and Laura’s mouth hung open mid sentence. She looked away from her cousin, closing her mouth and blinking her tearing eyes.

‘Are you crying?’ Yoongi was perplexed. ‘Laura, I was joking, what’s the matter?’

It hurt her so much… to have realised she likes Jungkook only to now see he belonged to someone else. She didn’t know what to do with all that she was feeling. Maybe she had liked him since a long time for her feelings to crash on her this way. She felt stupid to feel this way… a fool. The very thought of his stupid adorable grin and big curious eyes made her heart ache.

‘Nothing. Don’t worry about it,’ and she left the table in a hurry. Yoongi caught her wiping her eye with the back of her sleeve as she left… and so did Jungkook.

 _Was she crying? Why did she leave?_ Jungkook’s furrowed brows watches her.

In truth, his mind had been on Laura from the moment he had stepped into Hogsmeade yesterday with Sierra. And then he had realized the mistake he had made. From the beginning he wasn't sure of the meaning of this visit to Hogsmeade. It wasn’t the first time he was spending time alone with her. They had been out, just the two of them, a few times since third year. Had she asked as a friend? Or was this supposed to be a date. But the way her friends had gushed and exclaimed when they saw them, and Sierra's hand on his arm, Jungkook had realized he had landed himself on a proper date with her. And Sierra was so happy, so extremely happy that he didn't know what to do. Her friends were giggling around her and that was no moment to say anything to her. It would only embarrass both of them.

After the  _date_ , Jungkook realised he really needed some time alone. He was angry, confused, guilt ridden. Maybe a small part of him had known what this was… and the frustration he had seeing Laura with Montague made him want to make Laura jealous. But this was selfish of him, using Sierra’s feelings for his own vengeance which he wasn’t even sure he’ll get. He went to the club room, finding it empty and slumped on the maroon sofa.

He pushed his face into the cushions, realising that being alone with his thoughts were a torture as well. But thankfully he started feeling sleepy and was almost dozing off.

‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’ Emina’s shrill voice made him jump. He propped his head up to find the head girl standing behind him, face angry and hands on her hips.

‘I swear to god this stupid child, GET UP RIGHT NOW!’ She kicked his legs and Jungkook sat up grumpily.

‘Why are you beating me?’ He yelled back.

‘You are dating Sierra Gibson!!?? What are you doing Jeon Jungkook!’ Emina was furious. Jungkook opened his mouth to argue, again feeling guilty and angry. So the news travelled fast huh.

‘What-what if I'm dating her?’ He retorted.

‘Everyone from the student body to Mrs. Norris knows Sierra is not the one you like,’

Jungkook scoffed. ‘Please, you guys don't know anything,’

Emina crossed her arms and tapped her feet impatiently. ‘Set it right you moron,’

‘There is nothing to set righ-’

‘Then why do your eyes never leave Laura Dracwyn? Yes Jeon Jungkook my eyes see everything. I see how you keep glancing at her even now and I saw how jealous you got when you saw Montague sitting beside her yesterday for dinner. Meanwhile Sierra is so over enthusiastic about the two of you. She doesn't leave your side. She's waaaay into this Jungkook. How did you go out with her in the first place?’

‘Firstly,’ Jungkook held up a finger, ‘I thought she just casually wanted to hang out at Hogsmeade. We have been friends for 5 years. We’ve spent time alone before. If she hadn't asked me out in 5 years, why now? That's what I thought. Until the way she constantly held my arm and her friends giggled, I realized what it was,’

Emina shook her head in disappointment.

‘And secondly,’ Jungkook’s expression changed from that of a child who had made an innocent mistake, to a child who was trying to hide his candy in his pocket. ‘I have no interest in Laura Dracwyn,’

Emina burst out into a loud cackle, holding her stomach. Jungkook stared at her dumbstruck. Her laughter slowly died, and she was almost wiping her eyes. ‘Oh you are a stupid child indeed. Oh you think that's believable,’

‘Whether I like Laura or not, how is that related to me and Sierra? It's not like I'm gonna start dating Laura? She has zero interest in… she is… she only dates aristocrats. That's their rule,’

The Head Girl looked at Jungkook adoringly, choosing to let his obvious, not so diplomatic statements slide.

So now here Jungkook was, at the Ravenclaw table, earning pointed stares from Emina and grins from Sierra. But Emina was right, he had to clear this out as soon as possible. He turned towards Sierra, ‘Can we speak alone?’

‘What's wrong?’ Sierra asked. The lack of a smile on Jungkook made her thoughtful ‘Something’s on your mind isn't it? You’ve been a bit… different since last night,’

Jungkook took Seirra away into an empty classroom where they could talk peacefully. Jungkook was knotting up on the inside but he had to do this. When he finally looked at Sierra’s face for a moment, she looked nearly in tears.

‘I’m sorry,’ Seirra sobbed. ‘I… I was so stupid… This isn’t what you want is it? I should’ve known. I was so stupid,’ Her face turned red and tears started to rolled down the sides of her cheeks.

‘Hey hey!’ Jungkook hushed her, placing his hands on her shoulder. ‘Listen, I’m sorry. I should’ve been clearer about this. It’s just a misunderstanding. We can let this go right? We are friends-’

‘I don’t know how to let this go Jungkook!’ Seirra’s emotions were heightening now. ‘I… Well, since its out in the open anyways, what’s the point in me not saying it. I have liked you, a lot… since such a long time. And… I keep thinking, you are going to feel the same way… and this time, I thought you actually did. But… it was a lie, everything is a lie!’ she started crying.

‘Listen I’m really really sorry. It’s my fault-’

‘No…’ Seirra wiped her tears from the back of her hand. ‘It’s my fault. I should’ve been clearer. I should’ve asked you properly. Why am I so stupid… it’s going to be so embarrassing for me to tell everyone,’

‘We’ll clear it out with everyone together… we will…’ But even Jungkook was failing for words in this messy situation.

‘I’m going to become a laughing stock for the entire school,’ Sierra said. ‘Once we were in Hogsmeade I’m sure everyone could see I was into it and you weren’t. And now when you tell everyone there’s nothing like it… wow, dumped after the first date itself, I must’ve set a new record for a loser,’

‘Sierra don’t say that. Listen, we’ll handle it together ok?’

‘Jungkook,’ she sniffed. ‘You know how much I care for you. You know how well we get along. Why don’t you give this a chance. Give us a chance to see how well we are together,’

He blinked at her. All he could picture at that moment was Laura’s face because she was the one he wanted to be with.

His silence answered her, ‘You won't do that would you…’ Sierra looked down dejected.

‘Sierra… what you are asking is not easy…’

‘Forget I said that…’ she took a few steps back and then stopped. ‘There’s someone else isn’t it?’

Jungkook’s breaths stopped, ‘Don’t make this harder than it is… for both of us,’

And he saw her running out with tears down her cheeks.

*

‘Yoongi you finished the Alchemy assignment?’ Hoseok asked the Slytherin after their classes were done.

‘Mmhmm,’ was all Yoongi answered. He walked forward, not bothering to walk with his boyfriend.

‘Yoongi?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Are you ignoring me?’

‘I’m not ignoring you! Anyway see you later, have to meet Snape,’

Hoseok stood there with a confused pout.

‘You should know,’ he heard Yoongi’s cousin behind him. ‘You should know he’s a possessive person,’

‘He’s been like this all day! What did I do that he’s ignoring me? ’ Hoseok’s eyebrows furrowed.

‘Nothing really,’ Laura rolled her eyes. ‘He’s overdramatic. Play along if that’s your thing,’

‘Well I at least need to talk to him!’

‘Yeah good luck,’ she patted his arm and left.

Hoseok looked for him everywhere and finally Jimin told him where he was.

‘There’s a room on the fourth floor,’ Jimin said and for some reason the boy wasn’t able to contain his grins. ‘Jungkook discovered one night on his prefect patrols. If someone’s inside, only if you have something that belongs to that person can your palm turn the handle,’

‘Oh… why’s he there?’

‘Said he wanted to be alone,’

‘Then why are you grinning so much?’

‘Maybe you both need to time alone to sort this out,’

‘Well I’m going to speak to him unless he decides to throw me out himself,’ and with determined steps Hoseok turned around.

‘It’s the empty wall next to the elv’s painting,’ Jimin called behind him.

Hoseok found the empty wall of grey stone and started running his hands over the slabs.

 _Wait, I forgot to carry anything of Yoongi’s…_ he wanted to curse himself for his stupidity and then suddenly, his fingers felt a door handle. He looked at to see a wooden knob had emerged from the stone. He turned the handle and pushed in, finding himself in a quaint room. There was a round seat with a broken canopy over it, a window with sheer blinds swaying, an old bookshelf and some potion equipments. There was a fireplace and a large furry rug on the floor. His eyes found Yoongi on an old sofa.

‘Yoongi?’

No answer.

‘At least tell me why I’m being ignored?’ Hoseok asked his boyfriend. Yoongi was quiet, flipping through a textbook.

‘Yoongi,’ Hoseok called again and the Slytherin looked up.

‘I thought you have better things to do than to come talk to me,’ he shrugged.

Hoseok quirked an eyebrow, ‘Better things like what?’

‘Herbology, quidditch, chatting with people,’

‘Chatting with people?’ Hoseok asked, walking towards him. ‘Anyone I chatted with in particular?’

Yoongi shrugged again.

‘You don’t like me… chatting with other people?’ Hoseok asked, standing right in front of Yoongi.

‘I don’t care, talk to whoever-‘ he stopped talking when Hoseok tilted his face up by the chin.

‘Is Yoongi jealous?’ Hoseok cooed, but there was mischief lacing his words and his eyes darkened.

‘No I’m not,’

Hoseok bent lower, ‘Who was it that bothered you? Timothy? Charlie? Or was it Yugyeom?’ And he saw the way Yoongi’s jaw clenched at the last name. His thumb stroked Yoongi’s jaw.

‘I saw you looking at me,’ Hoseok whispered in his ear. ‘I saw you glaring at his hand over my waist,’ Hoseok could feel Yoongi’s body heating. ‘You got jealous, admit it,’

Yoongi grabbed the hair on the back of Hoseok’s head, and pulled him forward to face him. ‘I don’t like people taking what’s mine, even a little bit,’

Hoseok’s eyes dropped to Yoongi’s lips ‘But no one can do that…’ he said, pushing the blonde back on the sofa and straddling him. ‘I am yours,’ his teeth grazed over Yoongi’s nose.

‘Completely?’ Yoongi asked in a shiver.

‘My baby is jealous and worried,’ Hoseok kissed his jawline, long fingers working on the green tie of his boyfriend. ‘Mmmm, I really  _really_  like that,’ and the tie was off, thrown to the side and his fingers were quickly back to work, almost tearing open Yoongi’s shirt. ‘Does Yoon need a reminder that I’ll always be his?’

Hoseok’s soft hands were on Yoongi’s bare skin again and the boy couldn’t speak further. Hoseok’s warm mouth followed, teeth grazing at the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

‘Remember this next time someone makes you jealous,’ Hoseok’s breath fanned hot over Yoongi’s wet skin. Hoseok’s touch was everywhere, giving no room for Yoongi to even form comprehensible thoughts, nails slowly raking his sides, tongue swirling over his nipples. Yoongi hissed when Hoseok’s teeth grazed over the nubs. He was writhing in pleasure on the couch, kept in place by Hoseok’s strong grip, unable to stop the moans that escaped past his parted lips. Before he knew it, Hoseok was deftly undoing his dark green pants.

‘Hobi are you-?’

‘Shhh,’ Hoseok kissed his cheek, and left short pecks from his lips to his ear, ‘I want to make my possessive Yoon feel good. So he remembers, this is only and only his. Ok?’

Hoseok’s eyes watched Yoongi’s lips spread in a content grin and the pants were off him.

‘Wait,’ Yoongi kept a hand on Hoseok’s chest and the boy stopped. ‘You… You too,’ the blonde breathed heavily. ‘I want all of this off you,’ he pulled at the other’s yellow sweatshirt. Hoseok smirked and stood up, taking it off one by one, enjoying how Yoongi, in his messy worked up state, looked him with hunger. The shirt slipped off this lean shoulders and then he was just in underwear. Yoongi grinned at the pattern on it.

‘This is cute, is that a mouse?’ he asked.

‘Are you making fun of my mickey mouse underwear?’ the boy pouted and Yoongi lunged forward to hug his torso.

‘I’m not making fun of it! I find it adorable! It’s so  _you_ ,’ he kissed Hoseok’s stomach, fingers stealthily hooking into the waistband of the underwear but Hoseok caught his wrists and pushed him back.

‘Not so fast! Your sneaky ways won’t work today,’

But when Hoseok started to move forward, Yoongi’s foot stopped him. It slithered up Hoseok’s body, softly running over the bulge in his underwear and Hoseok saw the mischievous, lip bitten grin on the other. Hoseok caught his ankle with a low growl, softly kissing the underside of the foot and Yoongi giggled.

‘I’m ticklish there!’ He tried to pull back but Hoseok pulled him in too.

‘You’re getting wicked,’ Hoseok hooked his leg over his shoulder and closed the distance between them. He palmed Yoongi’s length as he kissed him and Yoongi moaned against his lips. Soon, the last piece of clothing was off the Slytherin.

Hoseok moved away a little and Yoongi’s body missed the warmth, arms extending to reach him.

‘Hobi?’ Yoongi opened his eyes and found him looking back at him, dark eyes travelling up to down. Yoongi was a heated mess, pink marks on his neck and chest, ruffled hair, heaving breaths. And the breath got caught in him when he saw Hoseok’s tongue peek out and lick his own lips as his eyes travelled lower. When he looked back up, he found Yoongi blushing even deeper, running his hand through his hair in embarrassment.

‘I could look at you all day,’ Hoseok got down on his knees. ‘You’re such a pretty sight,’

‘You’re such a sweet talker,’ the words left Yoongi with a shiver because Hoseok was delicately kissing his thighs. He moved closer and closer, wet mouth latching on to the soft skin. Hoseok’s honey toned fingers looked beautiful against Yoongi’s pale waist.

When Hoseok’s lips reached Yoongi’s cock, the boy shut his eyes, feeling his mouth softly leave kisses all over the length. The noises coming from his puckered lips tingled Yoongi at the pit of his stomach.

‘You… tease me… so much,’

‘Mmhmm,’ Hoseok hummed, the puckered lips opening and slowly closing over the head. He sucked in as he went down, making Yoongi curse in ecstasy. Yoongi’s fingers carded through the other’s copper locks and grabbed on to them. He curved his back when Hoseok went deeper, wet mouth hot and tight around him, tongue moving over the length, making his cock feel exactly what it wanted. Yoongi had never felt this exquisite and he wondered how Hoseok could be so good.

‘Fuck Seok…’ Yoongi bit the back of his hand, trying to control his moans. His heels rubbed over Hoseok’s beautiful back. ‘I can’t-’ he breathed hard and quickly cupped Hoseok’s face, prompting him to come upwards. Yoongi kissed him urgently, tongue and mouth a mess. Hoseok straddled him again, hand wrapping around the older’s cock, pumping him while Yoongi’s tongue ravished him. He was feeling Yoongi’s breaths and moans on his mouth, the sensation of it was so satisfying, Hoseok was going over the edge too, wanting to just lose all senses, wanting this to never stop. Hoseok kissed him down to his jaw and sucked on his neck, hand still skillfully at work, a thumb softly rubbing over Yoongi’s tip and the pleasure coursing through Yoongi was going higher and higher. The orgasm hit him hard, a mixture of something maddening and beautiful, he felt it in every nerve in his limbs as he released himself. As Yoongi’s body slowly relaxed, coming down from the high, Hoseok softly brushed his blonde hair out of his forehead and the cool air of the room felt amazing against his hot skin. Hoseok gently kissed his forehead and Yoongi wrapped his arms around his neck, hugging him.

‘Let’s go there,’ Yoongi pointed to the rug that looked softer and more inviting than the sofa and Hoseok wound his arms around the other and carried him their. Hoseok laid down and Yoongi draped himself over him and started to kiss him again. Hoseok’s fingers stroked Yoongi’s body, going over the dip of his lower back, grabbing onto his ample butt. Yoongi moved his hips slightly and felt Hoseok’s hard cock twitch beneath him.

‘Hmm, you like that?’ Yoongi asked.

‘Baby you’ve really been testing me since a while,’

Yoongi grinned, reaching for Hoseok’s underwear and soon he was naked too. He positioned himself back over Hoseok’s hips and kept the other’s hands over his ass. Hoseok grabbed on to it, groping and squeezing, eyes looking at Yoongi’s. Yoongi’s hand spread the precum over Hoseok’s length.

‘Like this?’ Yoongi asked as he grinded down on him again.

‘Just… like.. That,’ Hoseok closed his eyes. Yoongi closed his mouth over Hoseok’s left nipple, sucking it in, moaning, a hand holding the back of Hoseok’s neck. Hoseok’s body tensed in pleasure, fingers leaving faint crescent marks on Yoongi’s skin. The entire feel of Yoongi’s tongue, his heated body rubbing over him, the friction over his cock, the sounds from Yoongi, soon Hoseok was coming, head thrown back, moaning loudly.

‘Yoon, come here,’ Hoseok beckoned him and Yoongi slid himself into Hoseok’s arms. He kissed Yoongi’s forehead again and both rolled to lie on their sides. Hoseok’s breaths slowly settled, sweat sheened over his golden skin. He opened his eyes and looked at Yoongi, both lay looking at each other without words until they were kissing again, soft and slow.

‘But Yoon,’ Hoseok asked once his thoughts returned to him. ‘I don’t think the key to this room is a belonging of who’s inside. I didn’t have anything of yours,’

‘Maybe you did,’ Yoongi grinned.  _‘You_ are something of mine aren’t you?’

*

The classes were over for the day for the fourth year students. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were returning from Care of Magical Creatures when they passed the Slytherins and Ravenclaws coming from the potions dungeons. The Ravenclaws were crying and whining about the day’s lesson.

‘3000 words on the Alihotsy Draught by tomorrow?’ one of them cried. ‘Snape knows we have other subjects to study as well right?’

Alexander saw Taehyung and waved at him. Taehyung smiled and waved back. Some of Alexander’s classmates nodded at him in acknowledgement as well.

‘Why do you have to be friends with them?’ Taehyung’s other roommate Eric whispered to him. Haley from Gryffindor who was still salty over Taehyung’s disappearance from the Hogsmeade date to meet some strange woman with red hair added fuel to the fire. That last Hogsmeade trip she had invited Taehyung and Bogum to, Taehyung had left in between, never to really get back to her about it later.

‘Yeah Taehyung,’ Haley said to him. ‘They will come and bite you one day. You can’t trust them,’

‘Thanks for the advice but I know what I’m doing,’ Taehyung said coldly and they rolled their eyes.

‘Tae you are too sweet to understand the schemes of a Slytherin mind,’ Eric stated.

‘And what will they gain from scheming against me?’ Taehyung asked with a raised eyebrow and no one really had an answer.

‘You guys just wanna talk shit about them. I’m not interested,’ Taehyung turned to go.

‘We aren’t just saying it,’ Hayley interjected. ‘My senior, Jessica, she’s seen them for 7 years. She’s told us plenty of how cunning they are. They use you for assignments, sabotage your work. It’s better to keep a distance from them,’

‘Maybe your senior is just blinding you. Why don’t you open your eyes and see for yourself,’

‘Are you telling us to open our eyes?’ Eric retorted. ‘Just yesterday two Slytherin seniors were about to hex me because I accidentally bumped into them and dropped their assignment scroll. They threatened me that I have to redo their assignment or they’ll make sure I stay in the infirmary for a week. Thank God Charlie saw them in time and told them to stop,’

‘Well, all Slytherins aren’t good,’ Taehyung said, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder. ‘And neither are all Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws,’ he gave them a cold glance and left to join Bogum and his other friends.

‘You ok Tae?’ Bogum asked, seeing his obviously upset face.

‘People need to stop hating on Slytherin. It’s only breeding more hate,’ Taehyung said.

‘Don’t take their words to heart,’ Maria, his friend from Ravenclaw said, brushing her dark hair out of her face. ‘That Haley is salty because you are not interested in her anymore. And that senior of theirs, Jessica Simpson, she’s always trying to win more people on her side, like a squad against Slytherins. She’s constantly trying to get me on their side as well and I keep wanting to merge into the wall because she’s so persistent,’

Taehyung and Bogum just stared at her with blank eyes.

‘Whenever she gets a chance she tries to put false ideas in our heads,’ Maria continued. ‘If I see her in the girl’s bathroom I pretend like I’m deaf and blind. She has a knack of finding people who can be easily influenced. Not that she doesn’t have proof that Slytherins are indeed not the kindest of the houses… it’s like a chain. The Slytherins treat us badly, we treat them badly and then Jessica has enough proof. If I try to put this point across, she’ll say ‘ _but_  they started it!’ Which is true. Slytherins started this mean war but it doesn’t matter who started it. It matters how we handle it in the present,’ she sighed at the end of her rant and there was a long silence.

‘I think you should tell Ash Vorhart about this. She’s been a personal target of their hate,’ Taehyung said.

‘I should right?,’ she said and strode off.

‘Where are you going?’ Bogum called behind her.

‘To find them!’ and Maria went into the next corridor.

‘She’s cute isn’t she?’ Bogum asked and Taehyung sniggered. ‘If only you’ll have the courage to tell her that!’

‘Just because you’ve become the new daredevil after that quidditch stunt doesn’t mean you can tease me now!’ Bogum punched a laughing Taehyung and noticed someone standing at the end of that corridor. ‘Hey Tae, isn’t that your mom?’

‘Huh?’ Taehyung turned his head and found his mother standing at a distance. She smiled at him and waved her hand. Her brown hair was longer than before and her face showed age lines.

‘Yeah, I had told her she can visit me if she wants to,’ Taehyung said. ‘I’ll see you later,’

As soon he reached her, Jiyeon hugged him and took his arm, asking about how he was, and telling him how happy she was to see him again. She took him to Hogsmeade for tea at Madam Puddifoot’s.

‘2 Earl Greys, sweetened,’ Jiyeon said to the server and he nodded and left. She turned to her son, ‘Earl Grey is still your favourite?’

Taehyung nodded but didn’t smile, ‘You aren’t taking your black tea?’

‘I thought I’ll give my son company in his sweet tea,’

Taehyung nodded and they were silent for a while. Jiyeon glanced at her son, seeing how distant he had grown. He seemed like an entirely different person now and she wasn’t able to grasp her head around it. He used to greet her with the biggest and tightest hugs, lay his head on her lap on the first day of vacation. His smile used to be the widest when he saw his parents. Now his behaviour was so alien to her that she had to blink to fight back her tears. His warm brown eyes were gone and a pair of cold blue eyes looked at her. But it was all her fault, maybe she deserved this.

‘How are you doing?’ she broke the silence.

‘Better… much better than when you saw me last,’

‘I’m glad. I heard you have new friends now. Are they nice?’

‘Yes. They help me a great deal. They’re helping me… they’re helping me be normal and keep things in control,’

Jiyeon’s eyes furrowed when he said the word ‘normal’. ‘What’s Dumbledore saying?’

‘He’s teaching me to live with… it. How to control it, use it moderately,’

‘He doesn’t want to seal it?’

Taehyung gave her a look with pursed lips. ‘Not if you want your son exploding and almost killing people again,’

Jiyeon looked away from him, her eyebrow twitched once. ‘That’s not what I meant. I want what’s best for you. If sealing your powers is not good for you then I’d never want that,’ Jiyeon folded her arms. ‘I’m your mother Taehyung. I don’t want to ruin you,’

The server returned with a glass teapot and two cups. The steaming, red-golden tea looked soothing for the cold weather. Taehyung put in a spoon of sugar in his cup and then poured the hot tea. Jiyeon watched him, trying to put her anger aside. Her son had finally agreed to see her and she wasn’t going to let his teenage rudeness get in her way.

‘You haven’t forgotten how grandma used to make it,’ Jiyeon observed.

‘Should I add some sugar for you?’ Taehyung asked her.

‘Sure,’ Jiyeon said. ‘Make it like yours,’

Taehyung set to pouring the tea.

‘You wanted to meet me,’ Jiyeon said and he nodded. ‘What did you want to talk about?’

‘What was father like?’ The question from Taehyung came abrupt and for a few moments Jiyeon just looked at him blankly.

‘My father… Martaeus Aquiri. What was he like?’ Taehyung repeated, taking a sip of his tea.

Jiyeon blinked at her son. Of course he would be curious about his father. Any child would be. She was the only one who could tell him about Martaeus. Everyone close to Martaeus, family and friend, was dead.

‘He was… very different. In school, he never got along with most of the others,’

‘Laura’s mother knew him?’

‘Yes, they were good friends. They were close,’

‘How did you know him then?’

‘That was a few years after school ended. Your father got in trouble with the law for some alchemic experiments. I was a student then, studying to become an Auror. It takes many years of studying and training to become one. I helped him clear his name, convinced my supervisor that his experiments wouldn’t lead to any danger,’

‘And was that true? Or you lied to your supervisor?’

‘It was more true than false. I wouldn’t have let him go if he was a real threat to people’s safety… From then on, we saw each other more… and it eventually became quite serious,’

‘Were you… going to marry him?’

‘Almost… but then I learnt of the reasons for his experiments. He wanted to join the Alchemist’s Guild. He was the descendent of an Elkyre, and was an Elkyre himself. There was no way the Guild would let him go, even if I somehow convinced him to not be a part of such a secretive group, deemed illegal by the Ministry. How was an Auror supposed to marry the breaker of law? He confided in me his reality a little too late. I was not going to turn back from the path I had chosen… and neither was he. He said the Guild was where he belonged, those were his people. So I decided to end it and separate,’

‘Even though… you were going to be a mother?’

‘Especially because I was going to be a mother. I was not going to let the guild take my child. Or have my child grow up with an unreliable father,’

‘There was no guarantee that I would’ve been an Elkyre,’

‘I still didn’t want you to see they way your father lived. He was going crazier by the day, forgetting his responsibilities as being part of a family, obsessed with his research and experiments, all because the guild told him he could be the one to crack the code to create some stone. They praised him and he believed it. They were only using him for their benefit,’

‘So you think he wasn’t intelligent enough to create the stone?’

‘That stone is a myth. Your father was very intelligent but he had lost his senses behind proving himself to be the best,’

‘So he was a bad person…’

Jiyeon sighed, looking away from her son, ‘It’s not easy to explain Tae… It’s not just about being good or bad. I loved your father. But he had lost his way and not even I could bring him back to who he was. He didn’t have a evil heart, but he was blinded by ambition and sometimes, went you want something really badly, you are tempted to do even bad things to get it,’

Taehyung looked down at his tea and there was a silence again.

‘He’s alive,’

His words hung heavily in the silence. Jiyeon was frozen, completely still except the few locks of hair swaying around her face in the cold breeze. She slowly turned to Taehyung with bewildered brown eyes and narrowed brows.

‘What?’

‘He’s alive. I saw him,’

‘What do you mean!? How? When? Where did you see him? Did he say anything to you? Did he harm you?’

‘No mum, he didn’t harm me. He didn’t say much either. He is a wind Elkyre, he can be wherever he wants. He appeared in my dorm,’

Jiyeon looked like she had seen death.

‘You are telling me this  _now?_ Taehyung he’s dangerous! You can’t let this- Dumbledore. Did you tell Dumbledore about this? He will protect you. Martaeus won’t be able to do anything if Dumbledore protects you,’

‘Mum,’ Taehyung said boldly. ‘If he wanted to harm me, he could’ve done it long ago. He didn’t come alive 2 days back, he’s been alive for 8 years. And he never attempted to harm me,’

‘Well,’ Jiyeon’s eyebrow twitched again. She crossed her arms and sat back, trying to calm herself down. When it came to the safety of her son, all logical reasoning of her Auror training seemed to leave her. ‘That is true,’ she concluded.

‘Did you never suspect that he might be alive?’ Taehyung asked her while he watched her untouched tea lose it’s steam.

‘I did… of course I did. But I was too scared to go knocking down that path. I… I wanted to believe he’s dead. If he wasn’t, I was sure he would create some spectacle to let me know he’s still around,’

‘Well, he didn’t. Do you think you are wrong about him?’

‘I don’t know why he stayed in secret but I know I’m not wrong about him. He came to take you away from me by force. He almost killed me that day,’

Taehyung’s chest knotted when he thought of that again. It was very clear that whatever love his two parents had for each other was long dead. All that was left of it was himself.

‘What did he say to you?’ Jiyeon asked him.

‘He couldn’t really say anything. The moment he appeared, I lost my temper and screamed at him to go away,’ was all Taehyung said. He decided he didn’t want to tell his mother about Serafin and the guild’s invitation. The way she was losing her cool at any mention of the guild, she would not rest till she brought Taehyung back home. But he knew that wouldn’t stop his father or the guild from finding him again. Rather, he would be at greater risk, away from the protective spells of Hogwarts and its revered Headmaster. Not to mention the Death Eaters would have easy access to him as well. It would put his home and parents in danger. His muggle father would be caught in between it all. He couldn’t let that happen. As long as he was in Hogwarts, it would be fine.

‘Taehyung, please tell Dumbledore about this. I can’t do anything sitting all the way in the Ministry all day long. You need to be protected,’

‘I will. I’m seeing him tonight for my training,’

‘There’s other news I wanted to tell you…’ Jiyeon said. ‘Gwen Osburne… she ran away from St. Mungos. We have put a search party on her. There is no way she can return to Hogwarts but just… keep an open eye,’

‘I will,’ Taehyung said. ‘And the two boys? Jeffrey and Derrek?’

‘I see their parents constantly hounding Fudge to re-admit them into Hogwarts. But that falls under Dumbledore’s jurisdiction and Dumbledore has denied them every time,’

‘Even if they’re back, don’t worry. I have more people than I can count on my fingers who will protect me,’

Jiyeon smiled and finally sipped her tea and Taehyung tried to lighten the conversation though his mother was still quiet shaken from the news of his father being alive. Any movement around them and her eyes would snap to it, hand would shoot to grip her wand. Taehyung thought he had made a mistake telling her about it. He wondered if she would be able to sleep sound after this.

The time came for her to leave and she walked back to the castle with him.

‘Take care of yourself Tae,’ she said, holding his hand. ‘Please write to us often,’

‘I will,’ Taehyung replied smiling and a hint of his old self was shown on his face again. Jiyeon felt some relief seeing that.

‘You don’t have to worry so much,’ he said to her. ‘Remember, we have Dumbledore here,’

‘You’re right,’ Jiyeon nodded. ‘I’ll try…’

Taehyung stepped forward and hugged his mother. He was as tall as her now. He held her for a while and Jiyeon slowly stroked the back of his head. He pulled away, smiling wider.

‘Get back home now,’ he said. ‘Dad must’ve prepared your dinner already,’

‘Yeah…’ Jiyeon nodded again, squeezed his palm and then tore her eyes away from him, turning to go back home.

As Taehyung watched her go, he felt the familiar warmth that his mother’s presence would always fill him with. He hadn’t felt that in a long time.

*

‘Ash Vorhart?’

Ash looked up from her book to see the fourth year Ravenclaw chaser at the door of the clubroom. ‘Yes Maria?’

‘I may have some information for you,’

Ash beckoned her in and Maria sat across her, ‘It’s about Jessica Simpson. I know you two are not on good terms. But I personally feel she’s on the wrong side. I don’t know much but maybe something can help you prove to the school what she is,’

‘Thank you Maria,’ Ash nodded. She was acquainted with this Ravenclaw and was hoping she was trustworthy. ‘Please tell me whatever you know,’

‘So it all actually started with Jessia and Anne, two senior Gryffindors. They were treated badly by some Slytherin seniors back in the day and they continue to keep that in mind. I think they’re also extremely jealous of whoever tries to befriend the Head Boy and Kim Seokjin. Those two are the prized students of that house and they feel protective of them? It doesn’t even make any sense why they feel like that. That’s why they burned in envy when the news of Namjoon liking you broke out,’

‘That was probably just a rumour,’

‘Maybe it was a rumour but it made them so insecure. It started with them and more people started agreeing with their ideology. With the Death Eaters attack and the Min-Dracwyns getting arrested, there was hate growing against the Slytherins by them. But the final blow came when they all saw Seokjin and Namjoon siding with “criminals” during the trial. Jessica is propagating the agenda that the two are under some evil spell by the Slytherins and that’s why they’re supporting the enemy. They are so scared they’ll lose the two. But how would they even lose them, they don’t belong to them in the first place,’ Maria rolled her eyes.

‘And how do you know all this?’

‘Because Jessica has tried to recruit me. She goes around talking about this to whoever will listen. Some gullible people believe it and like that her group has grown in number. Now her knew thing is that your boyfriend is a werewolf and he needs to be exposed and expelled because he is life threatening to the rest,’

Ash gritted her teeth, anger coiling hot inside her.

‘I know Park Jimin, he’s a nice person. And I’ve played quidditch with you, I know you aren’t a scheming manipulator. So that’s why, I hope this thing stops soon,’

Ash’s green eyes looked at her. ‘Will you help me stop it?’

‘Hey Ash!’ Yoongi called them from the other side of the corridor. ‘Don’t we have practice right now? Are you busy with something?’

‘You guys go ahead,’ Ash said. ‘I have some work. I’ll join you guys soon. Follow your practice plan today Yoongi,’

Yoongi nodded and left with Jimin who gave Ash a longing gaze and wave of his hand. The Quidditch practice was his idea, hoping the cool air and some playful activity with his housemates might lift his mood. And it would also give a rest to the rumours about him.

The Slytherins changed into their quidditch robes and arrived on the pitch only to find the ground occupied by the other three houses having a friendly match. The players were random, not all were from their respective quidditch teams.

‘Hey!’ Yoongi’s deep and loud voice reached them and they paused the game, looking down at the Slytherins. ‘We’ve booked this slot for practice. Playtime’s over,’

‘Min Yoongi,’ one of the Gryffindor seventh years smirked. ‘Why don’t Slytherins get up here too and show us how good they are?’

‘We have the match to prove that to you. Now get down,’

The Gryffindor flew low, almost in level with Yoongi. ‘You know, we don’t even need our real team to play against you. I bet you wont win from us,’

Yoongi scoffed. ‘My team can take all 15 of you together troll face, so stop dreaming,’

‘Is that so?’ A 5th year Ravenclaw flew near them as well. ‘I’d love to see that,’

‘We haven’t come here to play. We’ve come here to practice,’ Klaus stepped forward.

‘Little guy is scared?’ the Gryffindors laughed. Klaus was the smallest on the field right now. He gulped nervously.

‘Alright!’ Yoongi mounted his broom in anger. ‘Let’s do this,’ he looked at all his teammates who nodded back with determination and the 6 players rose into the air. A Hufflepuff senior teased them with the Quaffle but Jimin soon had the ball in his hand, maneuvering like a snake through water even with a dizzying head.

‘That boggart,’ one of the players cursed and 5 chasers were after him. They were pushing into Jimin from all sides and a bludger came at him right from the front. Jimin swerved and the bludger hit the handle of his broom, making him spiral and bump into another player harshly. Montague was getting frustrated at the way they were being defeated and he started to play dirty as well, kicking a chaser with so much strength that he flew off to the other end of the pitch. One of the players purposely flew close to Terrance, kicking the back of his head with his leg. The action on the pitch drew the attention of many students and soon the stands were being occupied by people.

‘They’re what?!’ Vanessa exclaimed, seeing the few green robes spinning between an array of red, blue and yellow over the field and ran to the scene with Laura and Hoseok.

The match had turned quiet ugly by the time they reached. The players were visibly punching and kicking each other, making extremely crude remarks which could have them suspended if McGonagall heard even a syllable of it. Laura saw Jungkook rush to the scene. He grabbed an extra broom from the shed and flew up as well, trying to make them stop the mid air fight. Charlie and Hoseok followed. All the players landed back on the ground and a few students rushed to the periphery of the ground to get a better sense of what was happening.

‘What are you guys doing!’ Charlie looked at his fellow housemates.

‘These guys aren’t supposed to be here!’ Yoongi yelled, pointing at them all.

‘This time slot was ours for Quidditch team practice. Half of you aren’t even on your house’s team!’ Jimin was quite angry, his face red and eyes hooded.

‘Well you played dirty!’ the 7th year Ravenclaw Freddie pushed his chest and something small fell on the grassy ground beneath them. Everyone looked at it and a Hufflepuff swooped down to pick it up before anyone else did. It was a glass vial with a clear brown liquid inside it, a purple belled flower soaking in it. Everyone was curiously looking at it. The label on the vial read W.B.

‘Wolfsbane!’ the Hufflepuff exclaimed. ‘Its wolfsbane!’

Everyone looked at Jimin in shock and fear.

‘What’s happening?’ Vanessa whispered to Laura. ‘Jimin doesn’t carry wolfsbane like that,’

‘It fell from Jimin!’ Freddie pointed at him. ‘I saw it fall, we all did! He’s a werewolf indeed!’

‘That is not wolfsbane!’ Jimin yelled.

‘Oh yeah? How do you know wolfsbane so well?’

‘Coz he’s been taking it everyday thats why,’

‘We’re letting a werewolf live with his, he’s a fucking monster-’

Freddie fell from a hard punch of Yoongi’s fist. There was a loud gasp from the students surrounding them.

‘Don’t you dare!’ Yoongi yelled.

‘Someone get Namjoon and Emina here,’ Laura said to a junior Slytherin and sent him to the castle as a fist fight broke between them all. Hoseok, Charlie and Jungkook were not enough to keep them all separated.

‘You bloody snake!’ A Gryffindor came at Yoongi and punched him on the jaw.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ Laura yelled and ran to the Gryffindor, pushing him away and uppercutting his chin.

‘What is happening!’ Ash was at the scene along with NamJin and Emina.

‘Someone faked a Wolfsbane vial and now everyone’s at each other’s throat,’ Vanessa said and went in whipping her wand out, trying to separate whoever she could find but the chaos was too much.

Ash and Jin gave each other a fearful look and the four went in, trying to separate everyone, getting hit themselves in return. Supporters from all houses had joined in and now fists and feet were thrusting in all directions, all of them yelling, growling and abusing. Vanessa was trying to pull Klaus away from being crushed between two big seniors, Laura was pulling a guy by the hair, away from Yoongi. Jimin had the maximum people attacking him. Jungkook launched himself in between them, pushing his own housemate away, earning a remark of ‘traitor’ by him. A Slytherin punched Hoseok and he fell on the floor, howling. Yoongi dragged that person away by the hair yelling ‘DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HOSEOK!’

‘ENOUGH!!!’ they all heard the hair-raising, deep voice of their headmaster echoing loudly across the pitch. Everyone abruptly stopped, looking in the direction of the voice to see Dumbledore standing on one end of the pitch, looking furious beyond their imaginations. His jaws were hard, lips curled into a line and blue eyes hard like ice.

Everyone separated from whoever they were holding or sitting on and looked sheepishly at the Headmaster before looking at their own feet.

‘The Great Hall. Now. All of you. If I find even one student missing, they will be suspended immediately,’ Dumbledore’s cold eyes swept over them once and he strode back to the castle.

Soon all students of the school were gathered in the Great Hall, the head of the houses standing in the front. All involved in the fight were standing in a line in front of the staff’s table. Dumbledore stood at the centre, his eyes looking at them in disappointment.

‘Never,’ he started and paced the length of the line. ‘Never in the centuries of this school, has something this shameful happened. This has crossed all levels of atrocities… I… I had never expected this from any of you!’

‘We invited the Slytherins for a match but they played dirty!’ A Hufflepuff with a bleeding forehead said. ‘Look!’ and showed him the wound.

Dumbledore sighed, clearly unimpressed and looked back at the students. ‘If the students of the houses cannot get along with each other, we might as well have four separate schools. Why call yourself a Hogwarts student when all you can think about is being a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff!’

The students looked down in guilt again.

‘We are sorry Headmaster,’ Namjoon stepped in front and started to apologise.

‘Yes we really are,’ Hoseok joined him. ‘It will never happen again,’

‘The ones who started this fight should be saying these words,’ Dumbledore said, eyes flickering to the real bullies in all the houses. ‘Yet they are still silent,’ he shook his head and walked out.

The students started murmuring to themselves and the staff looked at each other before taking off behind Dumbledore.

‘Prefects keep order,’ McGonagall said before disappearing into a corridor behind the other teachers. Laura and Yoongi rolled their eyes in a mirror like manner and turned to keep their house in order. Laura had a scratch along her forearm. She pulled her sleeve up and was wiping it with her scarf when she looked up to see Jungkook looking at her in concern. He had a bleeding bruise on his eyebrow and a scratch on his cheek. Laura wanted to go and check on him but both looked away from each other and soon enough, she saw Sierra tend to Jungkook’s wounds.

‘What’s gonna happen?’ Yoongi whispered to her.

‘I don’t know… but we aren’t apologising. They need to apologise for calling Jimin a werewolf,’ Laura bit through her teeth. Jimin stood slightly away from everyone, seething in anger. Ash was beside him, trying to soothe him down, her thumb rubbing the back of his palm as she whispered something to him.

The teachers returned and McGonagall took the centre. All eyes and ears turned to her.

‘After discussion with the Headmaster, we the professors of Hogwarts, have decided to initiate an event for the betterment of this school and its unity,’

The students started whispering to each other again.

‘This event should help you all work together, putting your competition aside,’ she said. ‘The Yule Ball,’

The whispers grew louder.

‘The Yule Ball?’

‘Isn’t that for a tournament?’

‘Are we finally having a dance?’

‘Is that like wizarding prom night?’

‘The Yule Ball,’ McGonagall continued, ‘is traditionally a dance conducted during the Triwizard Tournament, where 3 neighbouring wizarding schools compete with each other. It is an event to promote international magical cooperation. But seeing as how we need cooperation within our very walls, we think it will be a fine event for you all to learn that,’

The students were mostly smiling at the news.

‘Furthermore, we have also decided the student body will carry out the tasks for this event. The decorations, the food, the activities, all will be organised by you all. And, the president of this committee appointed by Dumbledore is Park Jimin of House Slytherin,’

At that, everyone looked at each other in confusion.

‘He will choose 4 members from each of the 4 houses to head each department. His words and decision will be final and can only be questioned by Dumbledore,’

‘What!? Why is he chosen?’

‘That’s too much power. Why should a Slytherin decide everything?’

‘Is she serious?’

McGonagall looked at the Hufflepuff girl who had made that last comment.

‘Yes I am very serious Miss Presley,’ she said to the girl who looked away sheepishly. ‘The staff knows Park Jimin is quite capable of this responsibility and will be a fair person to head this event. I suggest you all keep that faith as well,’

Jimin looked at McGonagall unable to understand what was going on in the staff’s mind to have made a decision like this but she only smiled at him encouragingly.

‘Well, you all have a month to prepare so Jimin I suggest you start planning immediately,’ and she left the dias.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well :D
> 
> Looks like we havin' a ball!


	17. Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've divided this chapter into parts 1 & 2 since it's long and various short incidents are happening. (I struggled with the flow on this one that's why it took longer than I anticipated)
> 
> So if you think you need a break in between, you know where to stop.

**Part I**

Emina ran to their club room, holding the note from Taehyung in her hand. When she arrived, Taehyung was already there with Hoseok and NamJin.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked in worry.

‘My father…’ Taehyung said. ‘I met him,’

‘What!? Where?’

‘He was in the castle,’

‘How is that possible? You can’t apparate on Hogwarts-’

‘He doesn’t need to apparate,’ Taehyung said. ‘His element is the wind. He can take the form of the wind. He can be anywhere,’

‘Thats… eerie,’ Emina said, looking around the room. The windows had been shut so there was no breeze. But the fact that his father was almost omnipresent was quite unsettling.

‘I spoke to the woman too…’ Taehyung said. ‘Her name is Serafin… she was telling me something about the Prima Matter,’

‘I remember you reading up on all that,’ Hoseok said to Emina. ‘Do you know what it is?’

Emina let out a breath and sat across them on the sofa. ‘If she spoke about it too then my suspicions are right. The Prima Matter is the absolute, perfect matter that one obtains by combining the four basic elements of alchemy - Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. When all four are combined, it creates a perfect circle of infinite energy, which is the Magnum Opus of Alchemy,’

‘The Philospher’s Stone…’ Namjoon said.

‘Here,’ Emina pulled out a book named  _Theatrum Chemicum_  from her bag and handed it to the boys. They opened it at the bookmark she indicated.

_The "prima materia" is compared to everything, to male and female, to the hermaphroditic monster, to heaven and earth, to body and spirit, chaos, microcosm, and the confused mass; it contains in itself all colors and potentially all metals; there is nothing more wonderful in the world, for it begets itself, conceives itself, and gives birth to itself._

‘And I found this on Abraxas since you asked me to read about him,’ Namjoon said to Taehyung and pulled out another heavy book, written in ancient greek.

_‘That which is spoken by God-the-Sun is life; that which is spoken by the Devil is death; Abraxas speaketh that hallowed and accursed word, which is life and death at the same time. Abraxas begetteth truth and lying, good and evil, light and darkness in the same word and in the same act. Wherefore is Abraxas terrible._

_It appears that Abraxas has much deeper significance. We may conceive of the name as that of the godhead whose symbolic task is the uniting of godly and devilish elements,’_

‘They want to create the stone again,’ Taehyung said. ‘That means they have the four elements?’

‘Fire and Wind exist, we know that for sure,’ Hoseok said.

‘So does water,’ Namjoon said and everyone but Taehyung looked at him with confusion.

‘Taehyung is water,’ Namjoon said. ‘I read about how Elkyric powers are passed down the same bloodline. The further the bloodline goes, the possibility of mutation is greater. Aquirys was a master of all forms of water. Elkyric powers are never seen in such immediate generations. Your father was the third elkyre in your lineage, after a generation gap of nearly 150 years. But due to a mutation in your genes, you inherited it too, and due to the suppression of the charm put on you, when it burst out of you, it came in its secondary stage, ice. Water is in you, lying dormant,’

Taehyung blinked, remembering Serafin had said the same thing to him. She said she could help him master all forms of water.

‘So 3 elements exist,’ Emina said. ‘Who knows if they have Earth or not. We don’t know anything about them,’

‘My father did not seem to be on their side,’ Taehyung said. ‘They need all four of us to make the stone and I don’t think I want to be a part of creating something that powerful,’

‘Don’t forget the Death Eaters,’ Hoseok said. ‘They wanted you for your powers too… what if they are helping the alchemists make the stone? Didn’t You Know Who want a stone as well? That’s what you saw in your mother’s memory didn’t you,’

‘It’s possible that Serafin was lying to you about not being allies with the Death Eaters,’ Namjoon said. ‘Maybe your dad’s warning was true?’

‘I dont know…’ Taehyung said, resting his elbows on his knees, eyes gazing into nothing. ‘But I know one thing for sure… I don’t trust my father’

‘Did you find anything else Joon?’ Emina asked.

‘Yes, I found one more thing of importance. It says here,’ Namjoon pulled out another tome and opened one of the last pages. He trailed his finger over the greek words, ‘the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone, is Nicholas Flamel,’

All looked at Namjoon in astonishment.

‘Nicholas Flamel?’ Their questions echoed.

‘Jin do you have that chocolate frog card of Dumbledore’s?’ Namjoon asked.

‘I have a few lying in our room,’ Jin replied.

‘I know the card,’ Emina said. ‘It mentions Flamel,’

‘That’s what I thought!’ Namjoon said. ‘It says Dumbledore worked with him right?’

Emina nodded, ‘Tae you should ask Dumbledore about him,’

Taehyung nodded, he had a practice session with Dumbledore that evening itself.

When Taehyung arrived, Dumbledore was waiting for him by the fire, a book in his hands.

‘Ah Taehyung, here are are,’ he gestured him to come sit opposite him next to the fire. Taehyung did so, though he had started to dislike heated places.

‘I thought we will see how your powers do in an environment unsuitable for your element. And it is indeed getting colder than usual as we advance into December,’

‘Professor,’ Taehyung said before Dumbledore could start the lesson. ‘I have something to tell you,’

‘Yes Taehyung?’

‘My father… he’s alive,’ Taehyung looked at Dumbledore to gauge his reaction and the old wizard did not look surprised.

‘I had suspected that,’ Dumbledore said.

‘Then why didn’t you say anything?’

‘It was only my suspicion. I could find no proof. I’m sure your mother was shocked beyond belief and would now find it difficult to be at rest knowing your father is alive. I didn’t want to cause that same panic when I had no proof,’

Taehyung nodded, ‘Do you think he’s dangerous?’

‘From what we know of Martaes, he was part of the Alchemist’s Guild. And that guild is dangerous,’

‘What if he’s not part of the guild anymore?’

Dumbledore looked at him with deep, searching eyes, ‘Did he tell you that?’

‘He… He didn’t seem to be on their side. We didn’t speak much but he sounded like he’s not with the guild anymore,’

‘It’s not possible to leave the guild. Once you are in it, you are in for life. If you are a powerful alchemist, they want you with them. If you want to leave the guild, you have to be more powerful than the rest of them, or make an exchange they cannot refuse,’

‘Do you think the guild wants to create the philosopher’s stone again?’

‘I believe so yes,’

‘What about the one Nicolas Flamel made?’

Hearing that name startled Dumbledore, ‘You seem to be doing your share of reading,’

‘I read that he is the only creator of the stone. But that’s not true. Abraxas is the only creator of the stone. You and Flamel have worked as partners at some point, isn’t it?’

Dumbledore took a while to answer, ‘Yes… Flamel had created a stone. And that’s how he separated himself from the guild. They had no power over him, neither could they come out into the open for the sake of their rules and decrees. Flamel started working on his own alchemic experiments. I had partnered with him for a while. The ministry doesn’t know about the existence of the stone. The only mention of it is in that records of alchemic experiments written by Flamel’s assistant which I’m sure Namjoon must have retrieved for you from the Restricted Section,’

Taehyung looked at him in shock, ‘Why haven’t the Death Eaters tried to steal it since then?’

‘No one knows where Flamel is… ’ Dumbledore said, looking into the flames. ‘He and his wife have hid themselves, to live a quiet life on their own,’

‘There were no attempts to find them?’

‘There were plenty. But it was like trying to find an invisible needle in a haystack. Futile… Even Voldemort, with all his power failed. I urged Nicolas, to lend the power of the stone in our fight, first against Grindelwald… but he consistently refused. He said such power was best hidden… something I didn’t agree with. That was the last time I saw him,’

Taehyung folded his hands together, thinking about all that Dumbledore just said to him. He had a strong feeling something was off, but he couldn’t figure out what.

‘Professor?’

Dumbledore sensed a change in Taehyung’s tone and looked at him curiously.

‘Was my father a bad man?’

Dumbledore looked back into the flames, ‘There was enough good in him… but that was a long time ago. I don’t know your father anymore Taehyung… I’m sorry that I cannot answer your question with assurance,’ He looked at Taehyung who was staring at his feet.

‘Shall we start our session?’

‘What are you teaching me today?’

‘I’m going to use some fire attacks on you, don’t worry, they are mild. But I need you to deflect them, and not use your elkyric powers. Deflect them with the shield spells you know. Can you do that?’

They were back to it… back to hiding. Dumbledore had lifted the seal on him but he was concealing him in another form now. What choice did Taehyung have anyway? He nodded, standing up from his chair and taking his wand in hand.

Dumbledore flicked his wand and the first ball of fire came towards Taehyung. Every cell in his body screamed to fight it with ice but-

‘Protego,’ Taehyung said, flicking his wand and the fire disappeared. Dumbledore looked happy. And Taehyung wondered if this is what he’ll be doing forever.

*

There was one day left for the full moon. Jimin tried to focus on the upcoming tasks he had rather than the malicious notes and comments he had been receiving at an increasing rate. After a meeting with the core team for the ball, Jimin was on his way to his clubroom with Ash when another one of those notes came floating over his head and hung in front of his face.

_Leave the school and go to the forests with your own kind before we expose you._

The words crawled up his nerves. He gulped, trying to simmer down his anger.

‘Incendio,’ Ash pointed her wand and both watched the paper turn to ashes. ‘They won’t get to you Jimin. Please agree to what I and Vanessa told you. It’s a good plan,’

‘It will get you all expelled,’ Jimin said. ‘I’m not risking that… not at all,’

‘We need to rip these people out, root and stem. And for that we need to catch Jessica,’

‘Snape will never let them expose me. The staff knows about my condition, they’ll handle it if anything happens,’

‘And what if they don’t?

‘Ash…’ he took her hand. ‘I just want to focus on the Yule Ball for now. Let me leave for the Shrieking Shack once I’ve assigned everyone their tasks-’

Some familiar screams interrupted their discussions.

‘HERE’S YOUR STUPID DRAWING BOOK!’ It was Laura’s voice and they heard something smack a table. ‘AND HERE’S YOUR STUPID MUGGLE TOY BOX!’

‘THAT’S A GAMING CONSOLE!’ It was Jungkook who screamed back at her, as expected. ‘AND THAT’S A GRAPHIC NOVEL! IF YOU HAD BETTER TASTE YOU WOULD KNOW HOW TO APPRECIATE GOOD STUFF!’

‘MY TASTE IS TOO GOOD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND!’

‘OH WELL OF COURSE YOUR MAJESTY! WHAT WOULD WE KNOW!’

‘YOU ARE INSUFFERABLE JEON JUNGKOOK!’ And they saw Laura storm past them. The two prefects had been bickering non stop from the day the rumours of Jungkook and Sierra had spread. They were so blinded with pride, rage and envy that they couldn't see their own feelings reflected in each other’s eyes.

‘And… I have to fix that too,’ Jimin said to Ash, pointing in the direction Laura left.

Ash sighed. ‘I think a tea cup is better at expressing itself than them,’

‘Jimin,’ Lee came jogging towards him, a note in hand. She halted before them and adjusted her glasses.

‘Here’s the line up that the staff has agreed to,’ she handed him the note. Jimin’s eyes scanned the list and his pulled up just the slightest.

‘I think I know how to fix this,’ he said to Ash. ‘I'm gonna fix Laura and Kook,’

The seniors, fifth to seventh year were gathered in the side room adjacent to the Great Hall during the lunch break. It was big enough to accomodate half of the school, with wooden floors, a tapering ceiling and benches which had been pushed back for space. There was a self writing quill taking down names of students as they entered.

‘Alright,’ Jimin said loudly and cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. The Slytherins were fully supportive of him and shushed all other students so that Jimin could talk. Namjoon and Emina stood on either side of him, keeping a subtle eye on the gathered students.

‘The staff has approved one of my suggested lineups for the Yule Ball’ Jimin said, using the sonorous charm on his voice box. ‘I will need 4 members from each house to fill in the following departments - food, decoration, music, stage,’

‘Stage?’ There were hushed discussions among everyone.

Jimin continued, ‘Since this is a ball, so yes, all of you will be bringing a partner,’

The discussions turned to excited whispers and giggles.

And then Jimin said something to cut through their excited chatter. ‘A partner from another house,’

‘WHAT?’

‘You're kidding!’

‘But my girlfriend is in my house!’

‘Well,’ Jimin addressed the last comment. ‘So is mine. But this event is about learning to get along with each other. So let's take it in that spirit. Talk to someone you haven't. Ask someone who is your acquaintance. Get to know them,’

The students again burst into disordered murmurs.

‘Silence!’ Jimin’s voice echoed over the students and they hushed, looking at him. ‘This is Dumbledore's decision and it will not be met with disapproval,’

‘Ok what's the stage for?’ A Ravenclaw girl asked.

‘There will be a show. Like a talent show. You will participate at least in a team of two, and again, this has to be an inter-house team,’

‘We don't need that,’

‘Let's just not compete,’

‘The prize is clearance in all assignments for the whole year… including potions,’ Jimin said, watching them all intently as their disgruntled faces turned to a look of shock and wonder, jaws hanging open. Snape was a pain in the neck for everyone. And potions was among the hardest subjects… if it meant they wouldn't have to bother about Snape for a whole year… there was nothing better than that. No more detention, no more suffering of your overall marks because Snape was in a bad mood.

‘I also need a pair for the opening dance of the ball,’ Jimin said. ‘Which will not be part of the competition. The two people will be chosen at random. The only condition is the two students should be from different houses. You all gave in your names which is now in this bowl,’

The large round glass bowl floated from the front desk towards Emina, containing folded pieces of parchment.

‘Pick the first name,’ Jimin said to her. Emina put her hand in and after shuffling around, grabbed one, not missing the sly smile on Jimin’s face. The plan had already been discussed between him and the head boy and girl. She unfolded the paper and smiled and looked towards her house, ‘Jeon Jungkook get your ass in here,’ she said, calling to the Ravenclaw prefect who had been standing quiet in the shadows. After some pushing and shoving, Jungkook came to the front and stood next to Emina awkwardly. Emina handed him the piece of paper with his name on it with a wide, almost evil smile.

‘Ok the next name. Head boy if you will,’ Jimin gestured to the bowl. Namjoon didn't know if he was in favour of this plan or not. He put his hand in, knowing what name is going to pop out, thanks to Jimin’s spell. He unfolded the parchment and his eyes blinked in surprise.

Jimin’s spell had failed.

The paper read Kimberly Clarke, one of the pretty Hufflepuff girls that most of them had a crush on at some point in life. Emina shifted next to him, clearing her throat, gesturing him to follow the plan. Namjoon felt the words stuck in his throat as he felt all eyes on him to announce the 2nd participant. Should he listen to his mind and not cheat?

‘Laura Dracwyn,’ Namjoon spoke, eyes still on the parchment.

There were one or two gasps, everyone in the castle was aware of how much this pair disliked each other. Emina saw Sierra’s head whip around, trying to locate Laura. Sierra looked appalled, like she was already preparing her argument in her mind against this pair.

‘Laura Dracwyn?’ Emina called out louder.

From among the Slytherins, they saw her emerge, face flushed and purple eyes flaring in anger. She stomped towards them, head high and shoes clacking the wooden floor in strong, fast steps. She went up straight to Namjoon and snatched the paper from his hand as if she was convinced they are pranking her.

She held the parchment in front of her eyes with pursed lips. It was her name indeed… looks like life was playing a prank on her instead of her friends. Namjoon sighed in relief at having replicated Jimin’s spell correctly and replacing Kimberley’s name with Laura’s. She crushed the paper in her hands, feeling defeated and stood to the side, glancing a moment at Jungkook who looked completely shook, big round eyes looking in her direction.

‘So the people can give me their names for the talent show and which department they want to volunteer in,’ Jimin said. ‘That's all, thanks for coming,’

The students dispersed, leaving behind the prefects. Before Laura could open her mouth someone else did.

‘I object!’ Sierra shrieked, stepping towards Jimin threateningly. ‘Change the pairing,’

‘The rules are the rules Sierra,’ Jimin folded his arms. ‘I am not changing anything,’

‘But why not!? You already know what a disaster these two are going to be!’ her wild eyes darted to Laura. ‘She can't go a minute without trying to humiliate Jungkook. Why are you doing this to him? He's your friend too! All Laura cares about us rubbing her snobbish nose in-’

‘You are right, he's our friend,’ Jimin said. ‘And so is Laura and as her friend I'm telling you I won't hear rubbish like this again. I was made incharge of this ball. And my decision is final. I am not changing my rules because you have adjustment problems and you want to jump into matters not related to you and try and create an issue where there's none,’

There was silence as Sierra glared at Jimin. She glanced at Jungkook, wondering if he will support her over his best friend.

‘Sierra you don't have to worry,’ Jungkook chuckled, trying to lighten the burning situation.

Sierra looked up at him, anger simmering. She glared at Laura and then stomped away, angry at him as well for not supporting her.

Jungkook sighed and turned back to his friends. ‘So what is this opening dance?’

‘We have to decide that,’ Jimin said. ‘Hobi and I will be teaching you,’ he smiled and Hoseok clapped Jungkook on his back.

Ash moved closer to Laura ‘I'm surprised you didn't object to this?’

‘Oh I was going to,’ Laura replied. ‘But seeing how it riled up Sierra just gave me some sort of satisfaction,’

Ash shrugged. ‘Well now I have to find a date for this thing. How about Charlie Weasley?’

Laura nodded. ‘Ask him before someone else does. He's getting a lot of attention thanks to his new ‘I will tame the dragons’ phase. He’s cute,’

‘Who’s cute?’ Yoongi asked a bit too loudly, his ears were the girls’ conversation. Laura rolled her eyes and smacked her brother’s face away.

‘Let me know when we start practice Jimin,’ she said and left, without a glance to Jungkook.

‘Hey!’ Yoongi called out behind her. ‘You did not answer me! Come back here you brat!’

‘Sorry grandpa I'm busy,’ they heard her as she walked away.

‘Grandpa…’ Jin started to laugh, his shoulders shaking and the signature sound of his windshield wiping laugh filling the air. Yoongi gave him a scowl.

‘Awww,’ Emina patted Jin’s shoulder. ‘I'm glad you finally have company,’

Jin turned to her scowling and his hands moved to mess her hair. Briefly the head girl and the prince broke into a small fist fight.

‘Stop fighting and help us pick a song for the dance,’ Jimin pulled Emina away before she could scratch a horrified Jin’s face who was currently hiding behind Namjoon, giving glowering stares to Emina.

After the lunch break, the Ravenclaws and Slytherins had Transfiguration in the morning. Professor McGonagall had divided the class into groups of 2 to practice the study of the Animagi.

‘Hurry up now, the quiz has twenty questions and I want all of them answered under 30 minutes,’

At that moment Jungkook and Ash run into the room, their bags bouncing behind them.

‘Sorry Professor!’ Jungkook said. ‘Madam Hooch wanted a word with the captains,’

‘Well as long as she didn't cancel Quidditch because of the spectacle day before…,’ McGonagall looked at them through her glasses. ‘Get to your seats quickly now we don't have much time,’

Jimin called Ash to his seat and she hurried to him. Jungkook looked around. Sierra was paired with Yugyeom but she looked regretful of it, eyes yearning to be with Jungkook.

‘There's one empty seat here,’ McGonagall called him to the front. Jungkook strode to the seat but froze, seeing his partner. But McGonagall didn't have time to pay heed to all that ‘Hurry up now Jeon I need to start the class,’

Jungkook looked away, going red in the face and stiffly sat next to Laura who glanced at him once and looked away as well, her own cheeks turning pink.

The quiz started. The groups were discussing with each other, agreeing or disagreeing with their observations, but Laura and Jungkook were painfully quiet.

Laura glanced at him. He was biting his lower lip, bunny teeth showing and writing with a lot of concentration while adjusting his round glasses. Her lips twitched in a tiny smile. He was adorable alright. Her eyes glanced briefly towards his muscular arms and she looked away. Feeling worked up at his close presence, she wondered how in the world would she keep her feelings in control when they would be dancing as a pair. Just sitting quietly next to him made her feel hot, putting images in her mind before she could control them. She shouldn’t be having these thoughts when he was dating someone else…

Jungkook silently wrote in his notebook, his thoughts as disconnected to the class as Laura’s. He looked at her, watching her push her hair behind her ear. He loved how her small movements exuded a certain kind of grace even though sometimes she would walk like a penguin. He bit his lips, trying to bite down his smile at that memory. He looked at her again, watching the curve of her lips to the slant of her neck and had to tear his eyes away, before his mind started visualising his desires and breathed out audibly.

‘Is everything alright?’

McGonagall’s voice made them jump and both looked up cluelessly.

‘You both have been unnaturally quiet. When I realized you both are partners I was expecting a fireball fight. So something must be wrong,’ the professor, who was usually stern was looking at them with curious eyes.

‘No Professor,’ Jungkook said in embarrassment. ‘Everything's fine,’

‘Hmmm,’ McGonagall said, looking at them from over her glasses and then went to the next desk.

Once the class was over, McGonagall called Jimin to her desk.

‘How are the preparations going?’ She asked him.

‘I will run the final plan with the staff before starting the work on it. People are yet to give their names for the different departments,’

‘Alright. If anyone gives you any trouble, let me know,’

‘Ok Professor,’ Jimin smiled.

‘And… is everything alright? Between Miss Dracwyn and Mr. Jeon? Both are your good friends, they seemed… not themselves today,’

‘Oh… both must be grumpy about being paired with the other. Their names were picked from the lot for the opening dance. So they have to perform together,’

‘Their names were picked? By you?’

‘No, at random,’ Jimin smiled but McGonagall gave him a knowing look making Jimin wonder if he was in trouble.

‘I’ll… I’ll run the choreography by you Professor,’ the boy said a little nervously.

‘Oh I'm confident in you Park. Don't worry about my approval,’ she said. ‘Off you go. I'm sure Mr. Jung has a lot of ideas for the choreography and must be bursting to show them to you,’

McGonagall couldn't have been more right. The moment Jimin entered the room they had taken for practice, Hoseok bulldozered him, excitement and energy overflowing.

‘I have to show you the moves I thought about!’ He jumped.

‘Alright alright calm down!’ Jimin tried to avoid getting smashed under the Hufflepuff. The room had one side lined with mirrors like a ballet studio. NamJin were sitting on the wooden floor, playing a war of thumbs, lost in their own world.

Hoseok put on the music and had asked Ash to help him with some of the moves. Jimin instantly loved the choreography. It was elegant enough for a ball, and exciting enough for the audience to have their moments of awe. By 4 PM, they sent for their dancing pair to come in for the first practice. Jungkook walked in, trying his best to ruffle his hair that had decided to fall like a black helmet around his head today. No matter what, his hair had refused to leave it’s coconut state. He cursed out loud, halting abruptly seeing Laura in the practice room, tying her long hair up in a ponytail. He realised he had never seen her in anything but her school robes or her formal aristocratic cloaks. It looked like she had borrowed some of Ash’s wardrobe to look appropriate for something that required fluid physical movements. And for the first time, Jungkook felt like she could belong to his half-muggle, half-magic world too, in that muggle outfit of black tights and a green tank top. They glanced and looked away from each other quickly, paying more than required attention towards Hoseok who was demonstrating the dance.

Hoseok moved like he was born for it. Extremely fluid and graceful. Even his hair didn’t bounce out of beat to the music. There were lifts, twirls, a lot of hand and waist holding and lingering touches. He finished with his big heart smile and they heard Yoongi clapping with much enthusiasm and shining proud eyes.

Jungkook gave a nervous chuckle, not knowing how he was going to handle such high proximity to his Slytherin crush. ‘It's amazing Hobi but maybe we can do something else?’

‘Ah how delightful!’ They heard a familiar elderly voice behind, making Laura and Jungkook jump. They turned to see their Transfiguration teacher smiling approvingly at Hoseok and clapping her hands.

‘Do you like it Professor?’ Hoseok asked expectantly.

‘Why yes of course! It's beautiful!’

‘Are you sure?’ Jungkook added as a last hope.

‘This is perfect for the opening dance. I’m approving it as final. It will suit the chemistry you two have as well,’ McGonagall said, ignoring Jungkook’s question and the awkward expressions of the two participant’s faces.

‘Ok, get practicing now. You must perfect it,’ and she left, a victorious smile on her face.

Laura and Jungkook hung their head low. Not only had the dance been finalised but now their favourite professor had expressed her expectations from both of them and there was no way they would be able to make themselves not live up to it.

‘Ok, you heard McGonagall,’ Hoseok clapped his hands. ‘Let’s do some stretches first,’

After 5 minutes of stretching around, both took their places in front of Hoseok, facing the mirror. The two were incredibly nervous, feeling an incessant flutter in their bellies. This was too much pressure.

‘Both of you start from opposite corners,’ Hoseok said. ‘Walk towards each other in steps of 4,’ Hoseok clapped his hands. ‘Bam Bam Bam- No no, more gracefully!’ his attention snapped to the novice dancers in front of him trying to follow Ash’s lead. ‘Light on your feet, no elephant feet, you aren’t marching to war,’

‘How’s it going?’ Jimin joined them after nearly an hour. The dancing pair was clearly starting to feel a bit exhausted from the added tension between them.

‘It’s alright,’ Hoseok nodded. ‘At least both are determined to do well and aren’t slacking, but… they’re both strong headed,’

‘You are not counting as per my pace,’ Jungkook said to Laura, clearly annoyed.

‘I am following Hoseok’s pace. Why are you going faster?’ she argued.

Hoseok sighed and then yelled, ‘Ok, the next step. Jungkook, Laura passes by you and you catch her wrist and then there’s that finger movement which I’ll show you again. So let’s perfect it till you grab her wrist and both pause. I want to to see proper posture and angling of your arms when you pause. No crooked handles. Jimin can you take on from here? I need to go wash up,’

‘Sure,’ the Slytherin nodded and crossed his hands over his chest, giving sharp eyes to the two dancers to carry on.

They walked to the beat, and Jungkook held her wrist but Laura’s arm ended up twisting back.

‘Ow! You moron!’

‘Why’ve you kept yourself so stiff? This is a dance!’

‘SHUT UP!’ Jimin roared and both jumped, instantly quiet. They looked at Jimin in shock.

Jimin was quiet angry, ‘One more word out of you two and I will-’

‘Its’ his fault why are you-’

‘You know what? Fuck it I don’t wanna be here with you!’ Jungkook threw his towel.

‘I don’t wanna be here with you!’

‘Good’

‘Good’

‘Fine’

‘Fine!’

And both stomped in opposite directions to gather their wands and leave.

‘Expelliarmus,’ the command came unexpectedly and both found their wands flying away from their spots just when they were going to grab it. They turned back to see Jimin holding both the wands in his hands.

‘Jimin give-’

‘Incarcerous,’ Jimin waved his wand in swirls. Laura and Jungkook both felt something wrap around their forearms and both were pulled towards each other, a tight string clasping them together, elbow to palm.

‘What are you doing!’ Jungkook yelled.

‘One more word and I will seal you mouth as well,’ Jimin said. ‘Front and center, NOW,’ he pointed his wand to the center of the room where Jimin leaned against the gramophone table. Laura and Jungkook grumpily walked to where he pointed, pushing and tugging and cursing under their breaths. Yet they could not ignore the burn coursing through them by the touch of their skin.

‘Sit,’ Jimin pointed to the floor.

‘Jimin I am your prefect,’ Laura started. ‘You can’t order me around-’

‘And if you are smart you would know that I don’t care. Now both of you, sit!’

Both flopped to their knees, sitting close together because of their bound hands and leaned back on their heels. Jimin sat himself on the table. ‘If you don’t cooperate and help me make this the best show possible, then you don’t respect me as a friend,’

‘I respect you as a friend!’ Jungkook argued and Laura didn’t want to fall behind.

‘So do I! You know that!’

‘Well then prove it!’ Jimin said. ‘Are you two gonna get along now?’

Both looked away with a pout.

‘You both don’t hate each other as much as you pretend to,’ Jimin said and both shot him a sharp look. ‘So,’ Jimin continued, ignoring them, ‘I want to hear a compliment from both of you to each other,’

‘Thats stupid,’ Laura rolled her eyes.

‘Then stay tied here the whole day. No wands,’

‘I’ll tell Snape!’

‘You think he cares? Tell whoever you want. I have authority regarding the Yule Ball. Easier than that is to just get along, isn’t it? Now, why don’t you start Laura?’

‘Start what?’ Laura asked awkwardly.

‘Tell us one thing you like about Jungkook. Make it meaningful and true or I won’t untie you two,’

Laura sighed heavily and there was a silence upon them.

‘I’m waiting,’ Jimin said, tapping his finger as he crossed his arms over his chest but Jungkook felt like he wanted to cry. The heavy silence was growing. Maybe her silence meant she doesn’t like anything at all. Jungkook looked away, hanging his head low and chewing his lip as the silence grew longer. He wished Jimin would spare him this utter embarrassment-

‘He…,’ she bit her lip, thinking hard. ‘He has a good… singing voice,’

Jungkook and Jimin both looked at her with surprise.

‘When have you heard me sing?’ Jungkook asked her. Only his close friends, Jimin, Taehyung and the rest had ever heard him sing.

‘You… you were humming one day… in the clubroom. I was surprised you listen to Celestial Warbeck’s ballads,’ she said.

 _She remembered my voice from that one day?_ Jungkook went pink but didn't stop looking at her. Jimin couldn't help but smile knowingly that the two.

‘Great, thanks Laura,’ Jimin nodded at her and the felt the ropes loosen at the top.

‘Jungkook your turn,’

‘Huh what?’ he looked at Jimin dumbstruck.

‘Compliment Laura and you’re free,’

‘Oh… uh…,’ he chewed his lower lip again. Jungkook looked at Jimin then back at Laura. He felt Laura tug on their tied hands lightly and he would be lying if he said he absolutely didn't love that. There was something heated in the way he felt about her being tied to him, like neither could escape the burn, the close contact.

‘Say it,’ Laura said, casting him a quick glance. ‘Or he won't let go. Just say anything-’

‘I… She… Works hard as a prefect and… she actually takes care of the other house students too. She protects everyone,’ he said looking away and felt the ropes loosen and disappear from around his forearm. Even when they were free of the bondages, their hands didn't move away, their bodies didn't seek distance. Both stayed still, because both wanted to be close. If only they would voice it out as well.

‘Good,’ Jimin said. ‘Now shall we start?’

Both nodded and Laura felt Jungkook move to take his position. She looked up a moment and his face was burning red. She got up and rubbed her wrist. She could still feel his touch tingling on her hand. Now she wished Jimin hadn't unbound them so soon.

 

 

 

 

**Part II**

The Next Day…

Taehyung, Jin and Namjoon sat on a big rock over the Great Lake. It was early morning and the wind was chilly. NamJin were huddled close to a small fire, their robes  _engorgioed_ to be as big as a blanket, while Taehyung looked like he was soaking in the cold wind, a smile on his face and eyes closed in content.

‘Hey-y Mr. Elkyre, you-u realize  _we_  are n-not made of ice r-right?’ Jin said with chattering teeth.

Taehyung pouted, ‘Let me enjoy the weather. The castle is too warm,’

‘T-too warm he says. It’s l-literally 8 degrees on a warm day n-now. W-winter approached s-so soon this-s year,’ Jin said. ‘A-are you r-responsible for that?’

Namjoon made the fire bigger, rubbing Jin’s hands between his and Jin finally stopped shivering.

Taehyung shrugged. ‘Don’t know. But it will be amazing if I can influence the weather. The winter I was born was the coldest winter in the last 200 years, so maybe I am capable of changing the weather?’

‘Can you make it warmer then?’ Jin said and Taehyung stuck out his tongue at him. The boy stood up and started stripping off his clothes.

‘What in the world is this child doing,’ Jin looked up and asked him.

‘I want to show you both something,’ he said, standing in just his underwear in the freezing wind and he inched closer to the water.

‘Kim Taehyung you better not be thinking of-’ but Jin was cut off with Taehyung jumping and there was a loud splash of water. Both the Gryffindors ran to the edge of the bank, seeing the dark water of the lake ripple. Taehyung was nowhere to be seen. Both looked around over the water surface and then finally they saw a face underwater, coming towards them. Taehyung smiled from beneath the water which had stilled and was beckoning them in.

‘Are you crazy?’ Jin yelled back. ‘I aint getting in that water!’

Taehyung pointed at his hands and motioned something, like he was palming an invisible wall.

‘He wants us to touch the water,’ Namjoon said, bringing his hand forward. As soon as his hand touched the surface, there was frost swirling everywhere until plates of ice started forming on the water, making a path. The frost spread over the banks as well, coming on to the tip of their shoes. Jin breathed out, his breath was misty as the temperatures dropped even lower.

At the distance they saw Taehyung’s emerge out of the water, blue eyes gleaming. He was waving his hands over the water, making points of ice crystals appear on the surface wherever he wanted.

‘Taehyung,’ Jin called him cautiously.

‘Watch this!’ Taehyung moved both his hand in arches and the water that lifted formed a circle of ice behind him, like a glittering tunnel.

‘Wow!’ Namjoon was astonished. ‘You learnt this with Dumbledore?’

‘Well, he taught me how to control my powers. So now I know how to do all this,’

‘Taehyung!’ Jin called him again. ‘Everyone can see us from the castle,’

The boy’s excited face fell at his stern tone.

‘Tae you want to risk everyone seeing it?’ Jin asked. The younger mumbled something which Jin couldn’t really hear except the words  _maybe that’s better._

‘What did you say?’ Jin asked him. Taehyung didn’t reply and instead disappeared into the water again.

‘This child…’ Jin looked away in anger. ‘Why is he angry with me?’

‘Don’t get angry on him now,’ Namjoon placed a gentle hand on Jin’s chest. ‘He was just having fun,’

‘At what cost? Why are you siding with him? You think this is smart?’

‘I’m not siding with anyone-’

‘You stay with him here then. I’m going back. Trying with all we have to keep him safe and he’s murmuring on me. He’s not a child anymore, throwing tantrums,’ Jin huffed and left. Namjoon looked from his back to the lake surface, sighing hopelessly.

‘Taehyung,’ Namjoon called out. ‘Tae Tae!’

Slowly, the boy’s head emerged from under the water. He looked angry and sullen, only his forehead and hooded blue eyes showing over the surface.

‘Don’t be angry with Jin?’ Namjoon squatted on the bank. ‘He’s worried about you,’

‘I just… everyone’s always worrying about me. I’m tired of it,’ Taehyung breathed out.

‘What else can we do Tae Tae? We are surrounded by people we can’t trust,’

‘It feels suffocating. Constantly hiding what I am, being under a mask. Am I violent? No. Then why should people hate me?’

Namjoon looked down, unable to explain to the boy that the world was not as kind as they would like it to be. He felt his difficulty, he had to suppress who he was, pretend to be someone else. That would surely be frustrating.

‘I don’t like living like this. Dumbledore is giving me lessons, so that I know how to hide myself better. That’s the real purpose. I’m 14 now, do I live the rest of my entire life hiding? What if my powers can be used for something good? Do I still hide?’

‘I want to find a way for you Tae,’ Namjoon said.

‘Maybe… maybe, everyone in the guild feels the same as I do? The Ministry is afraid of us for no reason. Imagine how much our powers can contribute to the wizarding world, but they shut us down before we can even propose it,’

‘So its ‘us’ now?’ Namjoon asked him with a small smile and raised eyebrows.

‘I meant… I meant Elkyres and alchemists. I am an Elkyre, even if I’m not in the guild,’

‘Do you want to join them Taehyung?’

Taehyung looked away, taking a while to answer. ‘I don’t know. If I’m with them, I’ll be able to practice my powers, know my real abilities. I literally feel like bursting sometimes with all of this power pent up inside me. It may not show on the surface, but it’s not easy living like this. Have you seen how often I burst out in anger nowadays?’

‘Yes, I noticed that,’ Namjoon nodded.

‘That’s not me. You know I don’t get angry like that,’

‘You never get angry,’ Namjoon agreed. ‘Never used to,’

‘Only the Guild can answer the questions I have… and none of us trust them…’ Taehyung moved farther into the water. ‘Go on, I’ll see you later. I need to cool my mind,’

The practice continued on the second day and Laura was clearly more nervous than before.

Lost in her own whirlwind of thoughts, she hadn’t noticed when Sierra had come in, prancing her way to Jungkook. Blueberry was with her too, playing with the end of a string from Jungkook’s bag. Laura pursed her lips, angry at the fact that Sierra was seeing him in his beautiful messy hair, looking unusually hot in his casual muggle clothes and then it struck her. Jungkook was probably like this in his common room? They all were a bit more relaxed and casual in their respective common rooms. It was that level of comfort that made your house your family at Hogwarts. The pangs of jealousy made her mad. How many more hours had Sierra spent in close quarters with Jungkook over all these years? Laura kicked her bag open in anger and retrieved her ‘power drink’ from within.

‘Ok Sierra, I gotta get back to practice now,’ Jungkook said.

‘Oh! Please I want to watch it! I want to see you dance!’ She pleaded excitedly.

‘It’s rough right now! I haven’t even caught on the steps yet. You’ll think we are creating a mess,’

‘Oh don’t worry, I won’t think that! I just want to support you!’ her eyes sparkled.

‘Ok Blue, go over there, we have to dance here,’ Jungkook pushed the kitten towards where Jimin and Sierra stood.

‘Blue!’ Sierra called and the kitten looked at her. ‘Kookie, send Blue here, I’ll take care of him,’

‘Go Blue,’ Jungkook pushed the kitten in Sierra’s direction. ‘Go to Sierra!’

The kitten hopped a few steps towards Sierra. It hesitantly walked further but halted just in front of Sierra as it heard someone speaking to Jimin. It’s tiny black head turned to Laura’s voice, standing a few feet away from Sierra.

Blue made a sound, instantly making Laura turn towards him.

‘Aw! Blue is here!’ Laura bent down, squatting low, beckoning the kitten and it instantly ran to her, climbing onto her shoulder. Sierra looked like she had been slapped across the face. The kitten cuddled over her shoulder, like it was preparing to take a nap and Laura walked to Jimin to hand him the creature.

Sierra went to Laura, a fake smile plastered on her lips. ‘You can give it to me, I don’t want the kitten bothering you,’ she stretched out her hand. ‘Don’t you look cute holding the kitten!’

Laura shot her a spine shivering glare, like she would turn Sierra to ashes and her icily sweet voice spoke, ‘If you ever call me cute again I’ll have you strangled in your sleep,’ she smiled tightly and handed Blueberry to Jimin.

A hateful gaze passed between Laura and Sierra as Laura took her position for the dance to start. Jimin played the music and both the partners glided to the centre, Jungkook holding on to Laura’s wrist and pulling her back. The contact of their hands and then their faces drawn so close, was driving Sierra up the wall.

‘Jimin,’ she inched closer to him. ‘Are you sure you want this choreography? Seems a bit much,’

‘I think it’s alright,’ he replied firmly.

‘I mean, you need chemistry for such a dance and they totally lack that,’ Sierra chuckled.

‘Thank you for your feedback. This is a closed practice. Only dancers and choreographers allowed,’ he said to her in an eerily calm voice, reflecting one of those sinister Slytherin smiles that made your skin crawl with anxiety.

Sierra opened and closed her mouth several times to answer him back and then finally said. ‘If McGonagall sees this dance she’s gonna have a lot to say about it!’

‘Yeah she did, and she loved it,’ Jimin said, giving her a tight smile. ‘Closed practice. Please abide by the rules prefect,’

Sierra huffed and left, stomping her feet loudly on the wooden floor so that Jungkook would notice. But Jungkook didn’t stop until it was time for him to stop. He turned from his position and asked Jimin. ‘Sierra looked angry?’

‘She wanted me to change the routine. I said no. She didn’t like that,’ Jimin said.

Laura pursed her lips and looked away as Jungkook opened a bottle of cool banana milk to drink.

‘Ok I think we should try a lift,’ Jimin said.

‘A lift? Isn’t that too soon? We haven’t even got the first minute of the song,’ Laura said.

‘A lift will take a while to master, so we should start sooner,’ Jimin explained.

‘Fine,’ Laura said grumpily. ‘You better be careful,’ she said looking at Jungkook sipping his banana milk with a straw.

‘Careful of?’ Jungkook asked her with raised eyebrows.

‘I’m heavier than I look. I don’t want you dropping me and getting my ankle twisted or toe stubbed-’

Jungkook moved fast, blanking her mind of all words and he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. Bodies now pressed, he lifted her up with one hand, sipping on his drink and walked to the other side of the room. She could feel how effortlessly he was carrying her, hands not shaking or even letting her slip an inch. She held onto his arms tightly till he gently put her down.

‘There, your little toes are safe,’ he whispered in a raspy voice and then smirked, sipping his drink.

Everything slowed for a moment and there was some dark promise in his eyes, like he would devour her on the spot. Something heavy weighed down on Laura’s chest and breathing freely became a mission. She vaguely registered things happening outside of them but did nothing to acknowledge them because, busy looking at Jungkook. He smiled at her challengingly, taunting, as if flaunting himself in front of her, showing her what she couldn’t have. Yet.

The Next Day

It had been raining since two days now, not the most usual weather for this time of the year. The whole castle was shades of greys and blues with little yellow fires lit at every other corner to keep the spaces warm, a setting that had put the entire castle in a cozy and lazy mood. But dance teacher Jung Hoseok was having none of that seep into this students.

Laura adjusted the strap of her bag, walking towards the practice rooms. Her feet halted right outside the door of the practice room as she tried to stop her feet from stamping on to the many packages kept on the floor.

‘What's this?’ She wondered, bending down to pick one up. She opened the small, rectangular package wrapped in blue to find a bunch of Blueberry Blast lollipops inside, along with a note in red yellow paper.

‘Dear Jungkook,

Since all Ravenclaw options are out, would you like to go to the Yule Ball together?

Giselle’

Laura’s chest burned. Giselle was a year junior to them, from Hufflepuff. She didn't know her, but currently an irrational hate was filling inside her. How did Jungkook know her on first name basis? She was bold enough to ask him out despite the talks about him and Sierra? How close are they exactly-

‘Oh what's that?’ It was Jungkook and Hoseok behind her.

‘How do I know,’ she thrust the package irritatedly in his hand and walked into the room.

‘Oh! Looks like these are your promposals,’ Hoseok teased with a big grin.

‘Promposals?’ Jungkook looked at him blankly.

‘You know how those muggle high schools have proms? The dance at the end of the year? Our Yule Ball feels like a prom,’

‘Oh…’

‘Wow you got so many! Sadly I didn't get any,’ Hoseok frowned.

‘That’s coz everyone knows you are going with Yoongi!’ Jungkook chuckled. ‘Why would they want to ask and then hear a no from you. Who do you want a promposal from?’

‘No one really,’ Hoseok said. ‘But seeing you get so much attention makes me want to get some too!’

‘You have a boyfriend who's giving you all the attention in the world! Let me tell him you’ve been wanting other to ask you out, let's see what he-’

‘Don't you dare say anything to Yoongi! You know I’ll reject a thousand requests just to go with him! Now go get ready for practice. You have two minutes,’

'Where's Jimin?'

'He said he'll be resting today. He has to leave for the Shrieking Shack after sunset,' Hoseok replied quietly.

'So it's tonight...' Jungkook's words were heavy.

Hoseok nodded, 'It's tonight,'

Jungkook walked to the back of the room to keep his bag and change into his dance shoes. Laura was already ready, doing her stretches.

‘So,’ she asked. ‘Who you going to the ball with?’

‘Huh?’ Jungkook turned towards her, his heart beating frantically.

‘You got so many requests. Surely you would've picked someone. So who you going with?’

‘Don't know... You?’

His answer made her breaths stop. She glanced at him but couldn't keep her eye contact.

‘W-what?’

‘I- I mean, who are you going with?’ he said nervously.

‘Oh… umm… don't know,’

‘I thought you would be going with Montague… but Jimin’s put a rule now,’

‘Why would I go with him?’

‘Aren’t you two…?’ Jungkook’s eyebrows narrowed in question.

‘I thought you knew better than to believe rumours about me by now,’ Laura shook her head. ‘I guess you still believe what people say about me,’

‘No no!’ Jungkook said in half panic half joy. ‘Of course I don’t believe what people say! I know you better than that!’

Laura nodded like she didn’t believe him and picked up another one of those promposals for Jungkook that was lying on the table.

‘Kimberley wants to take you too. Your girlfriend might be getting so jealous over these,’

‘Huh?’ That made Jungkook fully snap his head towards her with a clueless look.

‘She doesn’t seem to like the idea of this dance either from what I can tell,’ Laura went to adjust the gramophone. ‘Hope you two aren’t fighting over it,’

‘Who are you talking about?’

‘What do you mean?’ she chuckled dryly. ‘Sierra Gibson of course,’

‘And who told you we’re dating?’

Laura’s brows contracted. ‘Everyone,’

‘I thought you weren’t someone who believed in floating rumours,’

Laura turned back, an incredibly suspicious look on her face, ‘What are you trying to say,’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Jungkook shrugged, ears turned red. ‘I’m not dating Sierra, I never did. It was a misunderstanding,’

‘Ok c’mon no time to waste!’ Hoseok called them and started the music. ‘Practice on your own till you perfect the lift. I’ll see you both in an hour,’

‘Where are you going?’ Jungkook called out.

‘To get my promposal from my boyfriend!’ he set out with purposeful steps.

The dancing pair started at the next beat of the music. It somehow felt more intimate, now that they were alone and a fiery pit had opened within Laura’s stomach, flames licking her insides whenever Jungkook came too close. The memories from the day they were ushering out the first years from Peeve’s assault came back to her mind. It was a day much like this, cloudy with a drizzling rain. She needed to know what Jungkook really meant to say that day.

Jungkook grabbed her hands and proceeded to transition them into the next step, his palms settling on her waist. Laura blinked down, face blossoming a thousand shades of red at having felt phantom tingles wherever he ran his hands. She peered up at him through her lashes, there was red coating his neck and tips of his ears but there was a look in his eyes that was soft and it made her heart ache unfamiliarly.

She tried to shift her attention to the mirror in front of them and ended up indirectly staring at him more than her own form- The way he moved fluidly, his thigh muscles contouring as he lifted, His hair bouncing atop his head.

Suddenly she found Jungkook looking at her, catching her staring at him and both felt their knees go weak, feet tangling at a complex step. Laura bounced against Jungkook once and his hands came up to hold her in place so she wouldn’t go careening to the side. His hands were calloused, rough on her waist but his hold was gentle. She could hear him breathing softly, as his head settled on her shoulder and his hair tickled her collarbone.

‘Careful now,’ he straightened her, his hands trembling just the slightest. He moved away from her, going to reset the music and Laura almost stretched her hands out to hold him back, but her fingers closed on her own sides.

‘You… you remember that day when Peeves was wrecking havoc on the ground floor?’ she asked in almost a whisper.

Jungkook gulped, ‘I do…’ His fingers shook over the buttons on the music machine.

‘You said something to me at the end, I didn’t catch that,’

Jungkook looked back at her and thought for a moment before finally answering. ‘It doesn’t matter now I guess,’

‘Oh…’ Laura nodded, chewing her bottom lip. Jungkook’s eyes caught her hands wringing themselves as he turned back to the gramophone.

She looked nervous… she looked disappointed from his answer. To think that one day Laura Dracwyn would wear her expressions on her face.

He walked back to take his position, counting to the lift. Laura blinked to gain her focus but Jungkook couldn’t help but feel she was hurting a little bit. She ran forward for the lift and his arms took her up, twirling once and slowly setting her down, his eyes trained on her downcast lashes.

‘You…’ he said, hands not moving away from her waist. She looked up and Jungkook couldn’t breathe anymore.

‘What?’ her voice shivered.

‘I want to take you to the ball,’

‘I…’ Laura breathed, her eyes fluttering, her mind incapable of forming thoughts. She was so close and Jungkook’s eyes wandered from her lashes to her lips. Her hands that rested on his shoulders now grabbed onto his shirt. Jungkook felt the slight tug and that’s all he needed. He bent lower and pressed his lips to hers tightly. Laura’s reaction was immediate, pushing her body against his and both melted into the kiss with need and urgency. He held her tight, hands moving on her back and holding her head as their mouths opened. It was their first kiss but it was far from shy. All the built up tension between them had exploded. After all the self denial it couldn’t be pent up for even a moment longer.

Her fingers ran through his dark hair and held on to it, both pushing into each other, soft breaths escaping from their mouths. Jungkook’s hands roughly caressed her sides and lifted her up, but their lips couldn’t be separated even for a moment. She wrapped her legs around him and he twirled her again.

They were gasping for breath every time their lips parted slightly, until they closed on each other again. Finally, they pulled away, noses aligned. For a moment they just looked at each other, letting their breaths settle, faces flushed, lips pink and wet, eyes glazed and hair a complete mess.

‘I’ve wanted to kiss you since a long time,’ she said.

‘Me too,’ and he pulled her back into him.

 

_< This fits here doesn't it?>_

[Jungkook - 2U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHQiBvr-uGU&ab_channel=eEfyMedia)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D :D :D
> 
> Well... FINALLY.
> 
> *No spoilers on twitter comments ok?* <3


	18. The Howling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning : Blood & Violence

Ash folded the note in her hand. It was a coded message but her arithmancy skills helped her figure out what it was after observing the pattern.

‘Meeting at 4AM’ the message read.

Maria had sneaked up near the Slytherin dormitory windows, drenched in the rain to give her this. That group plotting to expose Jimin met at ungodly hours to be undetected from the staff or prefects and apparently this morning had been an important meeting in the haunted girl’s bathroom on the 2nd floor. The morning right before a full moon. This was no coincidence.

‘You’re their target too,’ Maria had told her. ‘They’re going to use you to lure out Jimin’s truth,’

‘But how? How can they use me for it?’

‘Please be careful Vorhart. They don’t tell me details. Only 4 to 5 of them know the actual plan. You might be in danger, and I mean real danger. These people won’t hesitate to physically harm you,’

Ash had less than 3 hours before sunset to catch Jessica and her minions and hopefully put a stop to all this for good. It didn’t seem enough… when her mind had so many thoughts running around.

She looked at her bedside clock. It was past 6 PM. It was time for Jimin to leave. She slid off her dresser chair and headed to the boy’s dorm.

*

Jimin sat on his bed with slumped shoulders, fiddling with an old chocolate frog card. He wondered if he should take anything to the Shrieking Shack to pass time… maybe the book he was currently reading? He has to spend many hours there… alone…

‘I’ve packed some food for you,’ he heard his roommate behind him. ‘Do you want anything else? Should I put in an extra jacket? It’s colder than usual. Do you want to take your novel?’

Jimin smiled to himself, ‘I was just thinking about that,’ he turned on his chair to face Yoongi.

‘Min Yoongi, how caring of you. Where was this softie all along?’

Yoongi rolled his eyes, while stuffing a scarf into the satchel for Jimin. There was a surprising knock on the window and both jumped slightly, turning their heads to find a red haired boy peering into the misty glass.

‘Let me in! It’s freezing!’ Hoseok yelled and Yoongi hurriedly opened the window for him. Hoseok climbed in, stumbling down the table but stood up quickly, hands on his waist, eyebrows narrowed and cheeks puffed in a pout. The drizzled droplets sat on his damp hair.

‘What are you doing here!?’ Yoongi was perplexed. Hoseok pursed his lips and pushed him aside, going to Jimin.

‘Jiminnie!’ He hugged the boy from the back, kissing the top of his raven haired head. ‘I’ll miss you when you’re gone!’

Jimin’s smile reached his eyes, ‘I’ll only be gone for the night! Hey, it’s a rumour right? That there are werewolves in the forest?’

‘Of course it’s a rumour!’ Yoongi said. ‘You think Dumbledore will let werewolves in the forest? So close to a school?’

‘Then what’s that howling we hear sometimes?’ Hoseok asked.

‘Those are the wolves of the forest,’ Yoongi said. ‘It’s an old rumour that they are born of a werewolf mating but I think that’s bogus,’

‘Hoseok, if you’re here, who’s watching Laura and Jungkook’s practice?’

‘They’ll manage,’ Hoseok shook his head. ‘Staying there with that sexual tension between them… I don’t know how long this will go on,’

‘Is that why you paired her with him?!’ Yoongi asked from behind, hands on his waist. ‘Was this all a ploy behind my back-’

‘Oh hush!’ Jimin waved him off. ‘We all know you’re soft for Jungkook. Stop being all big brother-y,’

‘I swear if they don’t get together by the end of the Yule Ball, I give up,’ Hoseok threw his hands up. ‘By the way, did you figure out who you’re going with?’

‘Not yet. But I’m not too worried about that. Luckily you’re all sorted,’

‘No I’m not,’ Hoseok replied bluntly, making Yoongi’s brows furrow.

‘What do you mean?’ Jimin looked at him.

‘I mean, I’m not going with anyone for the ball, yet,’

Jimin’s eyes went from Hoseok to Yoongi, who was opening and closing his mouth, trying to find the words.

‘Hobi what do you mean-’

Hoseok looked at Yoongi, ‘Anyway, hope _you_ get someone to go with  _you_ ,’

‘But, we’re going together aren’t we!’

‘Have you even asked me yet? Where’s my promposal?’

‘Prompo-what?’ Yoongi was utterly confused.

‘I’m not going with you until I get my promposal,’ Hoseok crossed his arms and pout back in place.

Yoongi chuckled warmly, ‘I know you’re not really angry with me when you pout like that,’

‘Anyway, I’m off now. I came to see you before you left Jiminnie,’ he smiled at the boy and left through the window, giving a last glare to Yoongi.

Yoongi sighed, sitting heavily on the bed. ‘I’m supposed to ask him for the ball? I thought it was obvious,’

‘You’re so boring! Give him the attention he deserves!’

‘Oh I give him plenty attention!’ Yoongi said and suddenly there was another knock on the door. He opened it and Ash entered.

‘How are you?’ she held his hands in hers and Jimin smiled. Her green eyes always widened like deep orbs whenever she was worried.

‘Don’t look so worried. Don’t you remember what Snape said? There’s 1/10 chances I’ll transform. I have enough wolfsbane in my bloodstream and he doesn’t think the venom has become potent enough for a full transformation away from the moonlight,’

‘Still… I don’t like it that you’ll be alone, all night,’ she fiddled with the rope hanging off the neck his green sweatshirt.

‘By the way,’ Yoongi walked forward. ‘Vanessa said she would be ready by now,’

Jimin looked from Ash to Yoongi, ‘You guys don’t have to do this, honestly. It’s unnecessary,’

‘It is necessary,’ Ash said. ‘For you, your safety, your pride, and the entire Slytherin’s pride as well. They have all talk behind our backs enough. I can’t bear that they think they can directly harm us. Their bravery needs to be proved foolish,’

‘My grandfather would be proud of you,’ Yoongi said to Ash. ‘But you’re right. We have to do this,’

‘Please don’t worry Jimin,’ Ash took his hands and kissed his bruised knuckles. ‘Everything will be alright,’

‘Yeah,’ Yoongi put an arm around him. ‘I’ll make sure of that,’

*

Hoseok entered the clubroom, his face looking longer than usual in his sour mood. He stood beside Jin who was on the couch, stashing away a few cards. They had lace running along the edges and ribbons tied on them.

‘I heard Tae is not talking to you?’ Hoseok asked Jin.

‘He won’t even look in my direction,’ Jin sighed. ‘And honestly, I don’t wanna talk to him right now,’

‘This is more important that your ego,’ Hoseok sat next to him. ‘He’s younger than you, he’s bound to act stubborn,’

‘It’s not about my ego,’ Jin looked at Hoseok. ‘I just… I need a break ok? I’m trying so hard to help that boy and he shoves his anger on me. I need to first come up with a solution to his anger problem, only then will I go talk to him,’

‘It sucks that we are fighting when we should all be having fun and preparing for the Yule Ball,’ Hoseok said, leaning back as Jin tossed another card into the box.

‘Hey,’ Namjoon entered, holding a set of cards as well. His eyes fell on the box on the floor, ‘Is this the box you are gonna set off into the Great Lake with all your cards?’

‘Yeah,’ Jin said.

‘Can you take mine as well?’ Namjoon handed him the cards in his hand, embarrassment coating his cheeks pink. ‘I don’t know what to do with them… throwing them away seems mean and I don’t know where I can possibly keep them all,’

‘Sure,’ Jin pushed the box in front of him. The box was barely two feet tall but Hoseok couldn’t see the bottom.

‘Is this one of those infinity boxes?’ Hoseok asked.

‘Yeah, purchased from Zonko’s,’ Jin said.

‘And what’s it for?’ Hoseok asked.

‘Yule Ball Proposals,’ Jin said.

‘I see,’ Hoseok pouted again.

‘Shouldn’t we see Jimin?’ Namjoon asked. ‘It’s time for him to leave,’

Namjoon and Jin knocked on Dumbledore’s oak doors. The headmaster opened it and let them in with a smile but the same joy was not reflected in the eyes of the potions master who stood with Jimin.

‘Jimin’s friends have some to see him before he leaves!’ Dumbledore said. ‘Well we ought to give them a moment, shouldn’t we. I wanted a word with you anyway Professor,’

Snape gave a short nod and left with Dumbledore to the inner room.

Jin handed Jimin a pack of pixie puffs with a big smile.

‘How do you all bear Snape?’ Jin asked in a whisper, watching him go. ‘He’s perpetually in a sour mood,’

‘You know he helps beyond required when we really need him,’

‘You mean when Slytherins really need him?’

‘Well, he’s not a saint, we know that. But he did allow Jungkook extra hours to practice his Draught of Living Death without much questions,’

‘I know you said don’t worry but… I will be a little worried for you Jimin,’ Namjoon said. ‘I hope the sun rises soon,’

‘Come here,’ Jin put his arms around Jimin and hugged him tight. He looked at Namjoon who looked at the pair longingly but seemed hesitant to make a move. ‘You come here too,’ Jin caught the sleeve of Namjoon’s teal sweater and tugged him. Namjoon slide into the triple hug with a smiling Jimin tucked between them.

In the inner chambers-

‘You’ve explained everything to him? If he’s in trouble, he should shoot up blue sparks,’ Dumbledore asked.

‘I have,’ Snape nodded.

‘Never thought one day you would return to the Shrieking Shack Severus,’

‘Don’t remind me of that,’ Snape said curtly. ‘You let Sirius Black walk without a single consequence of what could’ve murdered me, taken my very life. And then I get hated for trying to tell on his wolf friend,’

‘You still told Lily despite promising me you wouldn’t,’

‘And I don’t regret that. Maybe I was the only one who knew Sirius for what he was, a murderer,’

‘It is my fault I didn’t see that back then,’ Dumbledore said. ‘But he’s serving the consequences now, in Azkaban,’

‘But what is lost, is lost,’ Snape said, his lips curling into a hard thin line and he walked off.

‘It’s time to go Park,’

Jimin and Snape stealthily made their way to the Gargoyle statue on the ground floor, took the tunnel and emerged out into the Shrieking Shack. Once Snape checked Jimin’s vitals for the last time, he left with a nod. The sun had set but the last rays still illuminated the Forbidden Forest around him. Just as Jimin was going to shut the last window, a face appeared outside it. Jimin fell back, holding his chest.

‘Hi!!’ the excited voice of Taehyung came through the glass window.

‘Kim Taehyung you gave me a heart attack!!’

‘Let me in!!’ he knocked and Jimin sighed, getting up and opening the door.

‘You shouldn’t be here Tae!’

‘I know you’re not going to transform tonight. Yoongi told me everything. So let me stay here with you!’

‘Tae, its not safe!’

‘Can you cut that out? Can one of you trust me for once?’ Taehyung settled on the bed. ‘Come, sit with me,’

Jimin glanced at the windows with their thick curtains drawn. No moonlight could enter the room. He climbed on to the bed next to Taehyung, the only source of light was their wands. They heard the sound of a bird singing and looked at each other curiously.

‘Which bird sings at night?’ Taehyung asked himself, getting down the bed to see outside. He opened the curtains a peek and saw a bird on a tree branch, singing. ‘Hmm, I don’t recognise it,’ The moonlight made Taehyung’s skin look silver and eyes sparkle like sapphires. ‘I like full moon nights,’ Taehyung said. ‘It’s strangely cooling to my mind. I feel like my powers are heightened,’ he lay next to him. ‘So you and I are like… moon children?’

Jimin chuckled. ‘That’s a kind name for a werewolf,’

‘You are not a werewolf,’

*

The sun was climbing down and the last rays of light castes the skies in hues of pink, blue and purple. As the darkness crept in inch by inch, Ash’s anxiousness increased.

After dinner, Ash walked with her friends outside the Great Hall. From the opposite side, a group of Gryffindor seniors were coming their way. Ash knew who it was and she was trying her best not to react but her control alone couldn’t help the situation. As they passed, someone behind her brushed against one of the Gryffindors.

‘Watch it!’ Jessica sneered at Montague.

‘You watch it!’ Montague’s temper snapped.

‘Or what?’ Jessica’s attention turned to Laura. ‘You, all of you,’ she looked at the group of Slytherins, ‘Your time is over,’

‘Such confidence, I wonder what you’ve planned,’ Ash raised her eyebrows.

‘Why don’t you focus on taking care of your wolf boyfriend? Isn’t he sick right now?’

‘You dare talk to her like that!’ Montague squared up.

‘I’ll do whatever I want. Who are you to stop me? You think I’ll be scared just coz you tortured the last boy who defied you? We Gryffindors are made of better stuff than that,’

At this Yoongi stepped forward, ‘Then you should also know… little Gryffindor,’ his voice was so calm and deep that it sounded scarier than any threats till now, eyebrow cocked up maliciously, ‘That dragons eat lions for breakfast,’

Jessica finally seemed frightened as her eyes flared in fear of  Yoongi. She gulped uneasily and then whipped her head away from the group of green robed students, beckoning her friends to follow.

‘She seemed in a hurry when she was coming towards us,’ Vanessa said once they were out of sight. ‘She had something on her mind,’

*

‘Are we sticking to the plan?’ Annie Wilson, Jessica’s friend asked. They were in a locked classroom on the 4th floor. Freddie, the Ravenclaw who had framed Jimin to be in possession of wolfsbane during the quidditch fight stood outside, standing guard.

‘Yes we are,’ Jessica said but the agitation and nervousness was obvious in her voice.

‘Are you ok? You seem… off,’ Annie asked her.

‘OF COURSE I’M OK,’ Jessica yelled at her. ‘I… I just… need you all to be alert and don't make any mistakes. This is our chance,’

‘You seem on the edge,’ a Hufflepuff boy said.

‘Shut up now,’ Jessica quipped. ‘Is everything ready? James you have the blood?’

The Hufflepuff nodded and brought out his bag of pig’s blood.

‘Margo, here’s your green robe. Now go find a Slytherin. We act as soon as we can see the moon through the west wing window,’ Jessica said to the 6th year Ravenclaw and all of them moved out to put their plan to action.

*

‘The girl’s bathroom on the second floor… that’s where Moaning Myrtle is,’ Ash said to Vanessa who nodded. ‘That’s also where Tae found my destroyed assignments and Laura’s book. I’m going to go there and talk to her,’

‘I’ll come with you! Or take Laura, she should be done with practice by now,’

‘Hobi just called another practice session. And you still have work to do,’ she looked at Vanessa. ‘You need your entire focus for it, it can’t go wrong. Don’t worry, I’ll meet Myrtle on my own,’

Ash walked silently through the cold and lonely corridors, climbing up the great staircase upto the first floor. Shadows of the gargoyles and pillars shifted around her, making her halt every now and then, suspecting it to be someone. But there was no other soul around.

The bathroom was flooding as usual and she could hear the crooning of the resident ghost from a distance, singing a song about a monster lurking around Hogwarts that had yellow eyes and moved in the pipes. There was a movement above and her head snapped up, eyes on the opposite corridor where two girls were running. One of them was light haired and caste a scared look towards Ash. Ash did not waste a moment and followed them on silent feet. They seemed to have noticed her already, but if she could catch them, she could question them.

They were climbing up to the second floor and Ash pursued. She could handle two students, she hoped, in case they turned around to attack her.

‘Stop!’ she yelled but they didn’t. ‘Stop or I’ll hex you!’ she had her wand ready. They were climbing upward and she ran behind them until they were on the third floor.

‘Stop right there!’ she yelled again, climbing on to the next set of stairs but the girls were fast. They went up, towards the Gryffindor tower and Ash was about to jump on the stairs taking her upwards when the stairs shifted and she caught her step right in time. She gasped in shock and planted her feet firmly back where it was.

 _Thankgod…_ she said to herself, peering down the depth till the ground floor.

‘Hi,’ a voice spoke to her and before she could turn back she felt a heavy push, knocking the breath out of her as she fell through 60 feet of emptiness.

*

‘Who gave this to you?’ Jimin asked the junior who stood trembling in front of him. Jimin’s eyes were hooded, his voice was dangerously deep and he was holding a note in hand.

‘A senior girl in Slytherin robes. But I've never seen her before. She was waiting in the corridor outside. She told me to show this only to you.

Jimin looked at the note in his hand again.

_Your girl thinks she’s too smart. Too bad she’s going to get what she deserves tonight. She’s going to be in the courtyard. Let us see how good of a boyfriend you are, come and save her while you can. Or you can’t leave your little cage you werewolf? Hopefully she doesn’t bleed to death while you wait for the moon to go down._

‘Go to your room. And don’t talk to anyone till I get back,’ Jimin said to the boy who nodded and scurried off.  _They don’t even know how to write a good threat…_ Jimin shook his head. If they actually hurt her, there’ll be hell to pay. He glanced Laura walking to her dorms when he caught her arm.

‘Hey Ji… Jimin,’ Laura stuttered like she was trying to gather her thoughts.

Jimin put the note in her hand, ‘Time to end this,’

Laura read the note and nodded, ‘2 minutes?’

Jimin nodded and ran out of the common room towards the courtyard.

The corridors were deserted. He came up to the ground floor, every pathway was drenched in white moonlight. Jimin gulped and moved ahead, into the courtyard. He saw a body, lying in the middle of the court and ran towards it. The moonlight made his skin look white as a ghost. It was a familiar form… and when he turned her over, his fear was confirmed.

‘Ash? Ash!’ he tapped her cheek but she wasn’t responding. He could hear footsteps and whispers all around him. He looked back and among the throng of curious students were Freddie, Jessica, Annie and all that hateful lot. Jessica looked confused. She was staring at Jimin like she was waiting for something.

‘She’s breathing,’ Another student yelled

‘Of course she’s breathing! What are you waiting for? Call Pomfrey,’

‘Move out, what’s happening here?’

‘Give way, it’s the prefect,’

‘What’s the matter-’ Hoseok looked away from his housemates circled together towards what lay on the ground. He saw a twisted body lying, covered in blood… a sight bringing back numerous painful flashes.

Hoseok looked at Ash Vorhart lying unconscious, shallow breaths barely moving her chest. Her leg had turned at a slightly off angle from the hip. Hoseok blinked, his entire chest tightening, seeing her on the floor like this. He had seen her in a similar form before… injured, on the floor, almost unconscious. It played in his mind, constricting his breathing, making his vision darken as he blinked. He felt a weakness come over him. He remembered her pained and suffocating face, struggling...

He stepped back from the crowd, towards the inner corridor, pressing his back on a pillar and holding on to it for suffer. He wanted to help Jimin but he couldn’t.

‘Get help!’ Jimin yelled at the students. ‘She’s unconscious,’

‘Oh my gosh!’ Laura rushed in next to Jimin. ‘What happened to her?’

‘I don’t know,’ Jimin said. ‘There’s blood too,’

‘But… where’s the injury?’ Laura asked. ‘I need to press on the wound to stop the bleeding. I can’t find it,’

‘Clear out the space,’ Jessica yelled.  _The moonlight is hitting him. Why isn’t it working? Is there not enough light?_ ‘Give her room to breathe,’

The students made way and just then Pomfrey rushed in with a stretcher. ‘This is… this is unbelievable!’ she said looking at an unconscious Ash Vorhart for the 2nd time in the day. ‘Pick her up. Lay her on the stretcher,’

‘Is her head cracked?’ Laura asked.

‘No, her head is fine,’

‘Then where’s the blood coming from?’

‘This… is… this is pig’s blood!’ Pomfrey yelled, feeling the texture and smell of the thick red liquid on her fingers. ‘What is happening in this castle! Is this an idea of a joke?’ They had never seen the head nurse this outraged before. ‘Thank god she’s not really hurt! Out of my way! Send Snape and Dumbledore to me right now! Dracwyn! Get them this instant!’

Her eyes landed on Jimin, confusion and worry doubling. ‘Get back inside immediately Park! You’re not supposed to be here’ she whispered to him. They all watched her rush back to the infirmary with Ash and the other two nurses.

‘I wonder who did that,’ Jimin said out loud. Jessica cast him the dirtiest look but Jimin only smirked at her, ‘Looks like you’re losing Simpson,’ he pretended to relax, stretching his arms, letting the moonlight fall on his bare hands and face while the rest of the students watched him. ‘What?’ he asked Jessica’s questioning face. ‘Did you think I’m a werewolf? If I stand in the moon I’ll transform?’ Jimin cackled. ‘Really creative story there, I must admit. You must’ve gone to great lengths, planning all this didn’t you?’

‘You son of a-’

Jimin held up a hand, ‘Careful Simpson… if you come at me or my friends again… I won’t spare you,’

All students were watching them with confusion and the whispers started again.

‘Well it’s a full moon and he looks completely normal,’

‘Did you actually believe those stories? I told you they were lame,’

‘So was Jessica behind this? Did she put Vorhart here?’

‘I’m just glad there’s no werewolf amongst us,’

Jessica was shaking with fury and Jimin’s smug smile and cocky walk back to the dorm only infuriated her further.

She stomped back to their secret room on the 7th floor and all her friends followed her.

‘ITS RUINED!!’ she yelled at the top of her lungs. ‘FUCKING RUINED!! HOW DID THEY… WHAT DID THEY DO TO JIMIN? WHY ISN’T HE TRANSFORMING?’

‘We don’t know!’ Annie tried to calm her down. ‘Maybe… maybe you were wrong about him being a werewolf-’

‘I WAS NOT WRONG!’ Jessica slapped Annie’s hand which she had stretched out towards her as a gesture of explanation. ‘I SAW HIM CRY IN PAIN THAT NIGHT! I SAW HIM GO TO SNAPE EVERY NIGHT! HE TAKES WOLFSBANE AND YOU THINK I’M WRONG? I’LL TELL YOU WHO’S WRONG. WHERE’S THAT IDIOT MARGO? SHE SCREWED UP THE MESSAGE DIDN’T SHE?’

‘Jessica-’ Annie tried to cut in but Jessica wasn’t going to shut up.

‘AFTER SUCH PLANNING! YOU IDIOTS RUINED IT ALL! I SHOULDN’T HAVE DEPENDED ON YOU ALL, I SHOULD’VE DONE IT MYSELF!’

‘Jessica!’

‘OH SHUT UP! THE ONLY THING YOU ARE GOOD AT HIS BREWING FAKE WOLFSBANE-’

‘Miss Simpson.’

McGonagall’s voice rang loud and clear, silencing even the breaths of the students. Jessica stood frozen on her spot, too shocked to respond.

‘Professor,’ Freddie tried to save the situation. ‘Professor, Jessica is joking, she-’

McGonagall held up a hand, ‘I’ve heard enough. Now whatever you all want to say, you will say to the Headmaster. All of you, in my office right now. Mr. Jeon, Mr. Weasley,’ she said to the two prefects she had brought with her, ‘make sure they all follow me. If anyone runs, they’ll be expelled before they’ve even had a chance to explain themselves,’

The students walked in a file behind McGonagall, their heads hanging low for all the others to see in the corridor. Vanessa watched them go and there was no stopping the joy on her face.

‘You did it!’ she said to Jimin who was next to her. ‘Oh you were flawless!’

Jimin winked at her victoriously. ‘I just saw Ash in the infirmary. Pomfrey says there’s no lasting damage, she’s going to wake up soon,’

‘Oh thank god!’ Vanessa breathed out and her eyes found Hoseok walking weakly a few feet away.

‘He doesn’t seem alright,’ Jimin rushed to him. ‘Hobi?’

‘Hmm…’ Hoseok opened his eyes, straightening up. ‘I’m… I’m fine,’

‘Are you sure?’ Jimin cupped his face, eyes looking with concern and Hoseok smiled.

‘You know, Jimin doesn’t usually come this close to me?’ Hoseok chuckled.

‘Right,’ the other boy nodded taking his hands back to him. ‘Well I don’t want to scar your relationship with him forever,’

‘Did it work?’ Emina peered into the corridor and asked in a whisper. Vanessa gave her a thumbs up and beckoned her closer.

‘Ah thank god!’ the girl breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Here, Yoongi, it’s an extra dose, just in case you need to remain transformed for longer,’ Emina handed a vial with a golden liquid to the one who looked like Jimin.

‘Is that how polyjuice potion looks?’ Hoseok pointed at it.

‘Well, I’ve read it depends on the person you’re transforming into. This was the first time I brewed it,’

‘Emina has been of such great help I can’t even begin to tell you,’ Vanessa beamed, hand coming over Emina’s forearm. ‘She really went beyond to help us!’

‘It’s nothing really,’ their usually firm Head Girl chuckled nervously, casting a side glance to Vanessa with a smile. ‘You’re so good at potions, that’s why we could brew it perfectly together,’

‘Thank you for taking this risk for us, really, I appreciate it,’ Vanessa’s blue eyes turned big when she looked up at her and Emina chuckled again.

‘I should get going now, McGonagall wants the head boy and girl to help with the whole Jessica fiasco. I’ll… I’ll see you around,’

Vanessa beamed at her and waved goodbye. When she turned back to the boys they had suspicious grins on their faces.

‘What?’

‘What do you mean what?’ Yoongi said. ‘Can’t you see the heart eyes she gives you?’

‘She does not,’ Vanessa chuckled this time.

‘And looks like you give her those too,’ Hoseok added. ‘What’s brewing between you two, other than polyjuice potion?’

Vanessa shrugged, ‘I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ and she started to walk towards the infirmary.

‘Oh we’ll see about that. Let me see who you come to the ball with!’ Yoongi called back behind her.

‘Come to the infirmary now Park Jimin! You’re girlfriend is waiting!’ Vanessa yelled back.

**2 AM**

‘Ah finally!’ Namjoon entered his room, stretching his back.

‘Caught them all?’ Jin asked excitedly, lying on his stomach reading a book. Namjoon sat next to him.

‘The interrogation is going on. But Jessica and Freddie can’t get out of this anymore,’ he replied. ‘The Slytherins outwitted them. They really are the most cunning,’

‘And surprisingly brave,’ Jin shifted to place his head on Namjoon’s thighs.

Namjoon hummed in the back of his throat, letting his hand rest on Jin’s hair. Jin had always comforted him this way, hand in his hair and his soft voice speaking Joon to sleep. He wished he had the same effect on Jin, he wished he didn’t feel so incompetent and lost when it came to physical touch.

Jin took a deep breath, looking up at him, eyelashes curling upwards with. Namjoon’s breath hitched in his chest to see him so prone and vulnerable, asking for some vague comfort he cannot give.

‘Joonie, maybe I was the wrong person to care for Tae. I- I always have thought hiding w-was better than fighting b-because I’m a coward,’

Namjoon shushes him as he cleared his throat to say something, anything. His words come out too soft, too unconvincing, ‘No.’ His voice still too thick, so he tries again, even if he’s afraid of so many things himself. ‘No, Jinnie. You are the bravest,’

Hands curled at the back of his shirt, Jin burying his head into what little warmth Namjoon could offer. He was so cold all the time, not even the blazing fires provided a warmth that being close to Namjoon could.

Suddenly, Jin’s body jolted, like a current passed through it. He hoisted up, eyes fearful and hands shaking.

‘What?’ Namjoon asked. ‘What happened?’

‘We… we have to go,’

‘Are you seeing something? Go where?’

‘They’ve taken Tae. I see it. They’ve taken him to a ship,’

‘Jin,’ Namjoon cupped the older’s face. Jin was pale, cold sweat on his forehead and brown eyes frantic.

‘They have Tae in chains,’ Jin said. ‘Its burning his skin, he can’t move. They’re taking him to Bellatrix. It’s a full moon night! It’s tonight!’ Jin cried, head snapping to the view of the moon from their eyebrow window.

‘Jin, come out of it. Look at me, we’ll save him, but you need to come out,’

Jin shut his eyes tight and then blinked several times. Finally, he looked at Namjoon. ‘He’s in the Shrieking Shack!’

 

*

‘Do you want to see a white Hogwarts tomorrow?’ Taehyung asked.

‘That would be beautiful,’ Jimin said, closing his eyes to sleep.

‘Consider it done,’ Taehyung smiled snuggling closer to Jimin. Outside the Shrieking Shack, the first snowflake of the season fell from the sky and dotted the soil.

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[The Howling Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_79MaU8sN8s&list=PLUDirXPAWEhLMH2QwO9jmyDAzqV6Tznqq&index=2&t=0s&ab_channel=SecessionStudios) _

In the ground floor corridor of the castle, Ash lay twisted on the floor. Her lip was split open. There was blood all around her, spilling from her head, and from the big gashes on her torso. It spread like veins, into the ridges of the stone. Her eyes were open and empty, staring coldly into Jung Hoseok’s face.

‘You did this,’ a faceless student spoke from his side. ‘You are a monster,’

‘I did not!’ Hoseok yelled. He stood up from where he was kneeling next to Ash’s lifeless body.

‘You did,’ another student replied. ‘Its her blood on your hands,’

Hoseok looked at his red hands, covered with blood. His uniform was smeared in blood too.

‘But I didn’t do it!’

‘You did,’ the students cornered him. ‘You wanted your revenge didn’t you? So you killed her,’

‘What revenge?! She’s my friend! I didn’t do this!’

‘She’s not your friend. She’s a death eater. She’s with Jenkins. That’s why you attacked her that night too. They all want to kill your mother,’

‘No…’

‘It’s good…’ they whispered sweetly. ‘This is what they deserve. Remember how they torture your mother? You aren’t weak anymore! You killed them!’

Hoseok heard sobs coming from the other side of the passage, he knew that voice. ‘What did you do Hobi?’ Yoongi slowly walked into the light. He knelt beside Ash, looking at her state.

‘WHAT DID YOU DO!!’ he shrieked and his eyes opened.

Hoseok bolted up on his bed, gasping for breath, head and chest covered in sweat. He looked around in the dim light of his room. Jokwon snored lightly on the bed next to his. There was something white and fluffy flying outside their windows and Hoseok realised it was snowing. He looked at his bedside clock, it was just past midnight.

_It was a dream… It was only a dream… It didn’t happen._

His mouth was dry like sand. He had seen Ash unconscious and hurt again. There was so much blood… it was relief that it wasn’t her own… but the image haunted him nonetheless.

He pulled the mustard colored blanket off him and put on his slippers. Just as he took the water jug from his bedside table, there was an knock on the door.

‘Hoseok? Are you awake?’ came Bogum’s voice. ‘Hoseok?’

The older opened the door. Bogum looked tense, his wavy hair disarrayed.

‘Tae hasn’t come back yet. I haven’t seen him since the potions class,’ Bogum said.

‘What?’ Hoseok was surprised.  _Where could that boy go? Was he still in the forest or…_

‘Listen…’ Bogum said. ‘I… I know something is up with him. Something not usual. That’s why I’m worried that he’s missing. You guys don’t want to tell me… but I’m his friend and I care about him. You can trust me you know,’

‘Bogum…’ Hoseok placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘I know you and Tae care for each other and you would never break his trust. But… I’ll just tell you this much… The reason Tae hasn’t said anything is because if you get involved in this, there’s a chance you’ll get yourself in trouble. Ignorance is bliss. This is for your own safety, I promise you,’

Bogum didn’t seem satisfied with that answer but he knew this wasn’t the best moment to press the issue. ‘Alright… I’m not going to be pushy about this, but know that I’m here,’ he said. ‘So where could Tae be right now?’

‘Head to bed,’ Hoseok said. ‘I’ll go find him,’

‘But let me-’

‘Bogum,’ Hoseok requested. ‘Please? Also, I’m a prefect. I can’t have a junior out of the common room after curfew,’

Pulling on his warm brown coat, Hoseok first went to the one person who knew Taehyung the best.

‘Care for a riddle while you wait?’ The bronze, eagel shaped knocker asked him.

‘My mind is too tired for riddles,’ Hoseok said to the knocker, while rubbing his area between his eyes with his thumbs.

‘You are too late to be here as well,’ the knocker replied.

The door opened before it could talk more and Jungkook walked out. ‘What happened??’

‘I thought Tae was with you!’ Hoseok said to Jungkook. ‘Did you speak to him today? Did he tell you anything?’

‘He told me he’s going to out for a walk. I don’t know where he is!’ Jungkook said.

‘Could he be in the Shrieking Shack??’ Hoseok said and the two bolted to the ground floor towards the secret exit.

*

Ash could slowly feel her senses work. She felt the cold of the room, making her toes feel like ice. She slowly opened her eyes to the familiar arched ceiling of the infirmary. Looking around her, she saw that it was snowing outside. She found a note from Madam Pomfrey on her nightstand.

_Please call for me or a nurse when you wake up. I’m right here in my cabin. Don’t worry, you are fine. I will explain more when you call me._

The sound of footsteps made her look towards the doorway.

‘Should we alert the others?’ It was Namjoon’s voice and he sounded worried.

‘No…’ that was Jin. ‘I don't want to put more people in danger. I want to see, from my eyes what’s happened. Namjoon you don't have to come with me,’

‘I'm not letting you go alone. If you are saying you saw death eaters…’

Ash felt her heart stop at those two words. No! No. No, no no. They couldn't be here. Why would they come to the castle? While Dumbledore is here?! Had they grown stronger? What are they here for? Taehyung? But Jimin is the only one who’s alone and away from the protection of the castle…

Snape’s words came back to her.  _They live in a pack. Only they know the way to control the Lycan venom… they want to make their pack bigger by infecting others…_

Her gut told her Jimin was in danger. She jumped down the bed, a sting of pain shooting up her leg. But she ignored that and ran on silent feet towards the secret tunnel out of the castle. Jin and Namjoon had already gone ahead.

*

‘Jimin?’ Tae said softly and the older hummed. ‘Can you hear something?’ He pushed himself up to hear better.

Jimin opened his eyes and lifted his head up as well. ‘Yeah… I hear… faint foot steps,’

That moment the secret entrance opened and both Jimin and Taehyung jumped up, backing towards the wall, wands ready. They sighed in relief seeing it was just Jin and Namjoon.

‘Oh gosh you scared us,’ Jimin laughed. ‘What are you two doing here-’

But Jin rushed towards Taehyung before Jimin could finish.

‘Why aren't you in your room?’ Jin scolded him.

‘Jin stop it!’ Taehyung yelled back. ‘I'm not a child!’

‘You are sure acting like one. You know it's not safe being here right?’

‘I wouldn't… hurt him,’ Jimin said from the side. ‘I… I would make sure if anything happened I'm not near him,’

Jin looked towards Jimin helplessly. ‘That's not what I meant Jimin…’

‘I think you should just stop talking Jin,’ Taehyung said. ‘You first spoiled my mood and now you wanna spoil Jimin’s too?’

‘Taehyung there’s more important things to consider than your precious mood! We told you not to leave the castle! The castle is protected! The Shrieking Shack isn't!’

‘Why are you so paranoid? Stop choking me with  _your_ fear! Let me be however I want to be. Do I not have basic rights to be with my friend if I wanna-’

_AWOOOOOOOOOO_

They all heard the distant howl of a wolf and everyone’s eyes fixed on Jimin. Jimin’s ears twitched in response to the howl. There were some noises behind the secret door again and everyone got their wands out.

‘Careful…’ Namjoon said, waiting for the door to open. They peeked a female hand on the edge of the door and Ash stumbled in. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Maybe,’ Namjoon said. ‘Maybe it’s just one of the forest wolves… we don’t have to-’

‘Jiminnie?’ She ran straight to him and hugged him tight.

_AWOOOOOOOOOO_

‘What’s that sound?’ Ash’s head turned to Namjoon and Jimin pushed her away slightly, shutting his ears, trying to block out the sound. There were goosebumps all over his skin and he was getting breathless.

‘Tae, you leave with Namjoon and Ash right now. I’ll stay with Jimin,’ Jin said.

‘No…’ Jimin whimpered. ‘Leave, all of you leave!’

‘Jimin…’ Ash walked closer to him but he backed away.

‘Please Ash… I beg you… all of you!’

‘I will stay here with him,’ Taehyung said. ‘Get Snape or somebody,’

‘You are not staying here!’ Jin grabbed his arm. ‘What will you do if… the other werewolves come?’

‘Let go of me!’ Taehyung pulled his arm away harshly. Suddenly there was a cry of pain from Jimin and the howling outside grew louder and more frequent.

‘They’re here…’ Jin said. ‘It’s the werewolves… they want Taehyung! They expected him to be with Jimin,’

Jimin was on his knees, pulling his hair out in pain. Every vein on his neck and arms turned thick and purple.

‘Jimin, take your wolfsbane,’ Jin said.

‘No, he can’t take that right now!’ Namjoon kneeled in front of Jimin. ‘He… the venom is flowing too strongly tonight and wolfsbane could kill him. Jimin? Look at me,’

Ash kneeled next to Namjoon, ‘Jimin, you will be fine. Just hang in there till we get Snape,’

‘No…’ he whimpered again, his body was fidgeting ‘I… need to go’ and as fast as the wind, he darted towards the door and ran out into the forest.

‘NO! JIMIN!’ Ash ran behind him. ‘JIMIN COME BACK!’

‘ASH! WAIT!’ Namjoon ran after her as well. Taehyung made a start but Jin locked the door in front of him. Tae’s head snapped back at him.

‘What the hell? They need us!’ Tae yelled at him.

‘They are here for you. This is a trap and you are walking right into it like a fool!’

‘Let me fight them if they’ve come to take me! Let me protect myself!’

‘They are werewolves and death eaters Taehyung! They are some of the most evil and powerful wizards we know! How can you protect yourself alone?’

‘I…’ Taehyung wanted to speak his mind but decided against it. He turned around and went to the door.

‘Colloportus,’ Jin said firmly and when Taehyung tried to turn the doorknob, he found it locked. The younger whipped out his wand, ‘Alohomora!’ He tried to open it but it didn't work. Looking behind his shoulder he found Jin pointing his wand at the door.

‘You can't break my charm. Taehyung, calm yourself and listen to me-’

But Taehyung slammed his palm on the door, covering it with ice and then punched it, cracking the lock open, he kicked the door and ran out.

‘Taehyung!!’ Jin ran after him.

A few moments later, the secret door opened and four more students walked into the room.

‘It's empty,’ Jungkook said.

‘Look!’ Yoongi pointed to the broken door, ice covering a part of it.

‘Taehyung was here,’ Hoseok said. ‘Both Jimin and he have run out,’

‘We have to get them!’ Jungkook ran out out. ‘ It's not safe out there!’

‘Wait, one of us needs to alert the staff,’ Hoseok said.

*

Jimin was running through the forest, hitting low lying branches which showered snow on him. His breath was misty but his body was burning. Shadows followed him through the trees. They were calling his name, even though there was no sound. He tried to run away from them but they were drawing closer, until he came to a clearing, a meadow-like area with no trees overhead. The strong moonlight hit him and he crouched on the ground, screaming, nails digging into the soil.

_Let go._

_The pain will stop when you stop fighting._

_Listen to us… we know…_

He couldn’t fight anymore. He didn’t have the strength, nor the endurance. The pain was ripping his body from the insides.

‘Stop fighting,’ a hard voice said. Jimin opened his eyes a slit and saw a barefoot man standing in front of him. His feet were big and hairy, not like a human’s. Jimin felt a hand on the back of his head, tugging on his hair and he felt his head rise to look at this unnatural man. He was very tall and muscular, long dark hair matted with mud and leaves. His eyes shined golden.

‘You are a strong one. You fought it for so long,’ he spoke, through thin lips which had a long scar running from his left cheek to the right side of his chin. ‘But you aren’t stronger than our creator’s venom,’

‘Wh-who a-rr-e you?’ Jimin shivered in agony.

‘I am Dromon. I am just like you,’ he smiled, showing big sharp teeth. ‘I am your friend,’

‘No,’ Jimin tried to yank Dromon’s hand away from him but his grip was like a vice.

The werewolf cackled, ‘Don’t think you can fight me boy. You wanna beat me? Let go then,’ his other hand grabbed Jimin’s neck, nails raking the sides, tearing red ribbons on his pale flesh. He had lifted Jimin off the ground and the boy struggled, feet kicking the air, lungs running out of air to breath.

Dromon screamed at him. ‘Become what you really are! Stop the pain!’

‘STUPEFY!’ A shot of red hit Dromon’s arm and he let go of Jimin who fell to the ground. Dromon was startled but was still standing, looking at the girl who had just shot him. ‘What do we have here?’ He sneered, walking closer. Ash gulped, steadying her wand hand.

‘Who are you?’ she asked but her shaky voice betrayed her.

‘What is a human doing here? In the Forbidden Forest?’ the monstrous man was getting closer to her and Ash started backing away.

*

‘Ash!’ Namjoon called out. ‘JIMIN!’

He had lost sight of her as soon as he saw her disappear into the trees. He couldn’t locate either of them and now he was running on his own in this cold and dark forest.

He had come a long way into the forest. He had never been this far, he wondered if anyone had ever been. He heard leaves rustle and a shot of light buzzed past him. Namjoon whipped his head around but there was no one he could see, until another shot almost hit him. He created a shield around him and started running away, but his pursuers seemed faster.

‘Show yourself!’ Namjoon yelled but to no use. The noises heightened. There were more of them now. Namjoon kept running as fast as he could and his leg hit a thick root. He fell heavily on his face, forehead hitting the sharp end of a stone. He turned around quickly, holding his wand out and stood up. He could see the something in the distance, their shapes coming to light, eyes shining golden. They were wolves.

*

‘Taehyung!’ Jin yelled behind him but the boy didn't stop.

‘Jimin!’ Taehyung yelled at the top of his lungs. They were at the lake. He had hoped Jimin would come here, this is where Jimin had come to talk to him once, but he was nowhere to be seen.

‘We will find him,’ Jin said. ‘Go back!’

‘Ssh,’ Taehyung hushed him. ‘I hear something,’

Jin looked around, wand at the ready. Both were slowly backing up in silence, to face opposite sides when Taehyung’s feet stepped on a twig and cracked it. At once there was a red shot fired at them. Jin blocked it and shot his own in the same direction. Two more shots came and Taehyung came to Jin’s side.

‘Who’s there?!’ Jin yelled.

‘Jin?’ A familiar voice came.

‘Yoongi?’ Jin and Taehyung lowered there wands. Yoongi, Hoseok and Jungkook emerged from the bushes.

‘Oh thank god we found you!’ Jungkook said and they all looked relieved.

‘Guys I need one of you to get Snape or Dumbledore,’ Jin said. ‘Maybe this is the chance for Taehyung to get back to the castle and be of some real use,’

‘You go back in if you want. I am staying here to help Jimin,’ Taehyung said.

‘We all are here now,’ Hoseok said. ‘You can head back,’

‘I didn't ask for anyone’s opinion-’

‘What a feast,’ a woman’s voice spoke from behind them. They hadn't even realized when it happened, but now there were 5 strangers standing on the other side of the lake. They all looked big and monstrous, eyes shining golden.

‘Isn't that Kim’s son?’ One of them spoke.

‘And the ice boy is here too. It's a feast indeed,’ the women said.

The four students looked at each other. Two of these strangers looked like monstrous humans, the other two were definitely-

‘Werewolves,’ Hoseok said in a low voice.

‘Run!’ Jin yelled and all ran away from there. The werewolves chased them, cackling and sending random shots of spells, like they were toying with their prey before the final attack.

‘This is a waste of time Selene,’ they were one of them say. ‘Just get the boy,’

‘And the rest?’

‘Kill them,’

Taehyung’s feet faltered hearing that. He had to get away from his friends or they would die.

‘Hey!’ He called to the werewolves. ‘I don't think you can catch me. You’re not powerful,’

‘This brat!’ One of them said.

‘Are you crazy?’ Jin yelled but before he could do anything there was a wall of ice in front of him, covering him all the way to the top, like a dome. He looked to the side and found Hoseok, Yoongi and Jungkook startled as well. The four were on this side, the ice enclosing them and Taehyung on the other. They heard some pounding on the wall but the werewolves soon gave up to catch their real prey.

‘We have to get out!’ Jungkook said, pointing his wand and letting out an ‘Expulso’ but the spell didn't do much. It hit the ice wall, caused a few cracks and ricocheted back. Yoongi’s timely shield spell saved them.

‘It's not gonna be easy,’ Jin said. ‘This is magical ice. He used too much of his energy, he’s gonna get weaker,’

‘I have an idea,’ Hoseok said. ‘Let's get back to back. Two of us cast the shield, the other two send the explosion spell,’

‘Ok,’ Yoongi agreed. ‘But our timing has to be flawless,’

‘Ok, let’s go on my count,’ Hoseok said. ‘On the count of 3, launch the explosion spell. I and Jin will cast the shield as soon as you leave the spell,’

‘Got it,’ Jin nodded. The four got into a circle, backs against each other.

Hoseok counted. ‘1, 2, 3!’

*

Taehyung was running uphill. He didn't know where he was going. Turning back he would send icicles shooting from his hand to hopefully hit the werewolves. But they were too quick and were trained to dodge attacks. He was growing tired, he had never used his powers to this extent. The path behind him was almost covered in ice. Maybe Jin was right… he wasn't ready to face real danger…

No, he could do this. He was an Elkyre. His ancestor had defeated an army, he could surely defeat a few werewolves. Just when he was getting his hopes back up, something whizzed past him. He didn't stop but ran across it, it was a long arrow stuck to the ground. The tall trees beside him were rustling loudly, someone was jumping from one tree to another, sending arrows his way. And one hit him, the arrow pierced the left side of his back, making a burn like pain course through him. Taehyung doubled up, almost falling. He felt weaker by each passing second. His speed slowed down and another arrow hit his shoulder. He looked back to see the werewolves were getting closer. Extending his arm, he cast a wall when another arrow painfully pierced that outstretched arm. Taehyung cried out in pain, blood shooting from the puncture. This didn't feel like just a flesh wound. The arrows had something… something that was sucking the power out of him. The wall he had casted was weak. The werewolves shattered it and ran through it. They slowed down, seeing him losing strength and walked towards him slowly with a smile. He flicked his other hand, sending a spear of ice but the werewolves dodged it effortlessly.

‘Bellatrix will be happy,’ one of them said.

‘Well, we aren't giving him up without a price,’ the Selene said. ‘She wants him, she should be ready to give us what we’ve always wanted,’

‘Hey!!’ He heard Jungkook’s voice and the sounds of spells being cast. He turned back to see his four friends running towards them.

 _Why did they come back! These guys will kill them! They need me alive but they will kill them!_ Was all Taehyung could think of.

One of the werewolves turned back and jumped towards Hoseok who used the stunning spell to throw him off.

‘You aren't taking him anywhere,’ Jin said. Taehyung looked up at the trees and his eyes found the shooter who had his arrow ready for Jungkook.

‘Hey!’ Taehyung called again. ‘It's me you want, then come get me!’ He stood up shakily.

‘You’ve had your game time Michael,’ the Selene said. ‘Get him,’

Taehyung smirked, footsteps getting faster. He had seen what was ahead. And it's him they wanted. They would follow him down.

Taehyung reached the edge of the cliff he was running to and jumped off.

*

Dromon slammed Ash against the trunk of a tree, her neck in the hold of his palm. Every teeth in her mouth shook at the impact. His other hand was twisting her wrist until her bones snapped with her scream and she dropped her wand. She screamed so loud that Dromon’s hold on her throat tightened in annoyance, making her choke.

‘Ssssh,’ Dromon said. ‘You make too much noise,’ He was too close, like he was studying her for his dinner. ‘Pure blood…’ he said, seeing the Slytherin wrist band she wore and slowly relaxed the hold on her neck just enough for her to breathe. ‘You will be a good addition to the group. Tell me, would you prefer to be with Bellatrix? Or with your wolf boy? I could definitely arrange the latter,’ he sneered, and his tongue licked over his sharp teeth. Jimin was writhing on the floor in pain, trying to get up but unable to.

Ash kicked him but his body was like a boulder, ‘Let go! I am not alone! You can't win!’

‘Oh I'm not alone either,’ Dromon said. ‘I have some more with me. Trust me, I'm the kindest among them. The others would just do what they want with you without giving you a choice. Would you want that girl?’

‘What are you doing to him??’ Ash screamed, seeing the torture Jimin was in.

‘That,’ Dromon looked back. ‘That's him, responding to the call of his kind. He’s a werewolf you silly girl, and no amount of wolfsbane will cure him. He will transform under the full moon, when other werewolves call on him. Do you want to watch him turn? The first time is always the most painful one,’

‘Let us go!’ Ash yelled again. ‘He's of no use to you! He's not a full werewolf!’

‘I think I'm gonna make you watch. And then maybe let  _him_ eat you,’ his snarl was blood curling. ‘He's going to be very hungry when he turns,’ He grabbed her head and dragged her near Jimin, making her sit on her knees. ‘Watch him! See how the bones in his body break,’

Jimin was trying to stand up but he couldn’t. There was no shelter from the moonlight and Ash could see his purple veins pulsing through his skin. His body was changing, bones shifting inside him.

‘Please…’ Jimin cried between his grunts of pain. ‘Let her go…’

‘This is for his own good,’ Dromon said to Ash. ‘We can teach him… how to control his power, how to transform when he wants. We are not ordinary werewolves… we are born of the metamorphmagus Skoll. Don’t you want him to have the choice in his hands?’ Dromon stretched out his paw like hands for Ash to see. She saw his bones shift and his hand transform into a normal human hand.

‘You see poor girl,’ Dromon’s hand came to stroke her cheek, voice dropping low to a rumble. Ash tried to squirm away from his touch but he held her in place firmly. ‘I transform at will, moon or no moon. But only we can teach him to do this. He will be free of pain, if only he bears some of it now,’ he whispered in her ear. Ash was shaking in fury. This is what Snape had told her about… only Skoll’s pack may have a solution to Jimin’s condition, and here it was… but at what price? She closed her eyes, trying with all her might to summon her wand.

_Accio wand!_

But Jimin’s screams wouldn’t let her focus. Dromon’s fingers around her neck were driving her to deepest pits of fear.

_Accio wand…_

Tears streamed down her cheeks along with the blood from her wounds. She couldn’t bear to see Jimin this way, it was too much!

_ACCIO WAND!_

Finally she felt something flow within her and her wand flew into her hand.

‘CONFRI-!’ But her human speed and broken wand hand were against the speed and ears of a werewolf. Dromon punched her, his fist coming at her in a flash. Ash fell to the ground, lip splitting open and the werewolf grabbed her head. ‘You shouldn't have tried that!’ He got his claws out to strike her face.

They all heard a growl and something big and dark pushed Dromon off Ash. Ash got up hurriedly to see a wolf, a real wolf, fighting with Dromon, snapping its sharp jaws at him. Dromon howled, like a call for help.

‘Are you ok?’ Namjoon came to her side, lifting her up.

‘Who are they?’ Ash looked at the two wolves fighting with Dromon. Dromon was larger than them, but still, they had managed to injure him.

‘Wolves of the forest. Where’s Jimin?’ Namjoon asked and both spotted him in a corner, finally able to stand, now that Dromon’s voice was not torturing him in his head. Jimin started to run from there and Ash followed him.

‘Please stop!’ Ash called behind him.

‘Get away!’ Jimin screamed. He realized he couldn’t fight it anymore. No one was safe around him. He was losing his sense of thoughts, like he was falling into a blackhole. It was happening... ‘Go back!’ A bone in him cracked and he doubled up, falling on his knees. Jimin screamed again, almost howling. His muscles were extremely tense, body growing bigger than he was. His shirt started to tear, feet kicking back into the dirt, lengthening. He panted, the screams stopping for now. There seemed to be a silence upon all of them.

‘Jimin?’ Ash called out slowly. ‘Are you ok? Look at me Jimin,’

Jimin was still panting, the scratches he had inflicted on his arms, chest and shoulders were shining red.

‘Jimin please…’ Ash cried and slowly he looked up and Ash knew at once, that the Jimin they all knew, was not there anymore. Instead, a being with shining golden eyes stared back at her. Ash closed her own eyes, a tear trickling down her cheek. She bit her lip to bite back the sob. She couldn’t cry right now… she couldn’t…

Jimin sniffed the air, as if he was trying to catch on to something. His eyes looked at Ash and a faint whimpering sound escaped from the back of his throat. He looked away and started to run again. Ash didn’t follow this time… she realized what that whimper meant. Jimin recognised her, but could no longer understand her words… he didn’t want her to see him like this. She could hear a howl as he disappeared into the woods again, and a few other howls followed it.

* 

‘TAE!’ Jin and Jungkook screamed as they saw his body disappear beneath the edge of the cliff.

‘Incarcerous!’ Jungkook shot ropes at one of the werewolves, pulling them back, away from the edge. The other one turned and attacked them, jumping high into the air.

‘Stupefy!’ Jin shot at him, sending the creature tumbling into the snow, but it recovered soon enough, running towards them again. The other one was about to break free of its bounds.

‘Stall the werewolves,’ Jungkook said, running towards the cliff too, discarding his robe.

‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’ Jin called back as both the boys attacked the wolves with spells.

‘Tae was hurt when he jumped. He could drown,’ Jungkook said.

‘JUNGKOOK DON'T-’ but it was too late. The boy jumped down into the stream, nearly 800 feet down.

Jin couldn't do much as the werewolves launched attacks on him. They had turned into their full form and were more vicious and quick than before. Jin tried to run, fighting two of them on his own did not seem like the best idea. At some distance, Yoongi and Hoseok were fighting 2 other wolves, one of them still in her half human form, shooting arrows. One of the arrows hit Yoongi's shoulder and he fell down, crying in pain.

‘No!’ Hoseok ran to him but the other wolf grabbed his feet, dragging him away. The she-wolf grabbed Yoongi by the torso and jumped up, climbing up into the trees.

 _Where are they taking him?_ Jin tried to think.

‘Go boy,’ the werewolf let go of Hoseok. ‘Go save him,’

‘What…’ Hoseok looked back.

‘Go save him. We’ll take care of your friend,’ and the three of them turned towards Jin. Hoseok looked from the jumping shapes on the trees to Jin, who would surely die or get captured, whatever fate these werewolves had decided for him.

‘Go Hobi…’ Jin said. ‘I'll handle it here,’

‘I….’ Hobi’s mind was blank. How could he make this choice? No… he couldn't.

‘Save him while you can or I'll never forgive you!’ Jin yelled at him as he slowly backed away from the werewolves.

‘It's fun to play with them,’ one werewolf chuckled. ‘Pick soon boy, or we’ll kill you too,’

‘Trust me,’ Jin said. ‘GO!!’

Hoseok had tears in his eyes as he somehow forced himself to turn away from Jin and ran towards where Yoongi was.

‘Why do you want me?’ Jin asked, trying to keep a calm voice as the 3 werewolves circled him, form turning back to half human.

‘Well… we have so many uses for you… we could sell you to Bellatrix,’

‘Turn you into one of us, put your family to shame… your father has troubled our kind a lot. Imagine, his only heir becomes a werewolf! It would kill him!’ Michael laughed.

‘Am I the compensation Bellatrix told you to get if you can't catch the other boy?’ Jin asked.

‘Oh we’ll get you both. That boy wouldn't have gone far,’

‘We’ll get you, the ice boy and the young wolf,’

‘You know about the other wolves I hope,’ Jin said.

‘What other wolves?’

‘The werewolf cubs, born here in the forest fifty years ago,’

‘You lie!’ One of them got closer and Jin just smiled before 3 big wolves pounced on the werewolves, all tumbling in the snow, claws, teeth and blood everywhere.

‘Jin!’ Namjoon came running. ‘Come here!’

Jin ran towards him and hugged him tightly, breaking down in tears.

‘I'm here,’ Namjoon held him tightly. ‘We’re ok… we’re ok,’ he patted the sobbing Jin.

Jin looked from Namjoon’s shoulder to the fight happening in front of them. Michael the werewolf had a fire torch in hand.

‘What are they doing?’ Jin pushed Namjoon, standing up to go to the fight but it was too late. Michael set himself on fire, taking an injured accomplice and one of the forest wolves with him. Selene ran away from the scene, bleeding heavily and the other two forest wolves backed away, howling in grief.

‘Michael killed himself,’ Jin said. ‘Why’d he do that…. Why…’

‘They don’t want us to have their bodies…’ Namjoon inferred. ‘They need to keep themselves a secret…’

* 

Hoseok chased the moving trees, waiting for the right time to shoot his spell.

‘Reducto!’ He shot when he had the chance but instead of the werewolf slowing down, she threw Yoongi’s body to the ground. Yoongi fell through the tree branches, the wood cutting his body everywhere and he met the ground with a loud crack. Hoseok ran to him with a scream but stopped dead in his tracks, seeing the streams of blood in the white snow, spreading from Yoongi’s body. His knees gave away, the nightmare coming back into his mind. Yoongi twitched slightly, his eyes opening a slit. ‘Hobi…’ he tried getting up but all he could do was move his fingers. The arrow was still stuck on her shoulder.

 _I have to help him…_ but his vision was darkening.  _I have to get to him… he needs me…_ he was blinking, each time his eyelids getting heavier, his chest constricting.

_But you aren't strong enough to help her!_

_You are weak… so weak!_

_It's painful isn't it? You should just sleep…_

The last thing Hoseok knew was the feel of cold snow under his cheek.

*

Laura ran into secret tunell behind Dumbledore and McGonagall.

‘Miss Dracwyn!’ McGonagall turned back at her, ‘You will stay in the castle!’

‘No! You can’t let me-’

‘This is not a discussion! Get me Sprout, Flitwick and Pomfrey immediately and stay in the castle!’ McGonagall whipped her wand, closing the secret passageway to the Shrieking Shack.

Laura clutched the burning locket in her hand, tears pricking her eyes. ‘Taehyung… he’s in trouble. They’re all in trouble…’

*

The ice cold water cut through Jungkook’s body as he hit the surface of the stream. Underwater, everything looked silver from the moonlight filtering in. But he couldn’t locate Taehyung anywhere.

He went back to the surface for air and then dashed back in. Swimming further, he saw Taehyung's unconscious body drifting into the dark, deep end. The locket around his neck was shining, floating upwards.

Jungkook swam towards him but the creatures of the water were surrounding him, startled by this invasion of territory. He took out his wand as a mermaid came at him, holding a spear in hand, eyes angry.

Jungkook held his hands up, he didn't understand what they were speaking… he didn't know their language. But he remembered that lost sailors would communicate through sign language with them. And that's what Jungkook tried. He pointed at Taehyung and joined his hands like he was pleading. The mermaid looked back at the drowning boy and then thought for a while. She turned to Jungkook and he was holding out a watch for her.

_Take it, please! Merfolk like human items… please just take it and let me go to Tae..._

The mermaid curiously looked at the device in Jungkook’s hand, it's glass dial reflecting light, the hands inside it moving and then snatched it. She then motioned the remaining merfolks to swim away, leaving Jungkook alone. Jungkook swam as fast as he could towards Taehyung, he was running out of air. He grabbed Taehyung from the waist and pointed his wand to the waterbed.

‘REDUCTO!’ The incantation came all mumbled in the water, the last expanse of air coming out of him as they shot to the surface with a red jet of light.

Jungkook gasped loudly as soon as his head was above water. He held onto Taehyung tightly and swam for what seemed like an eternity till he was able to reach the shore. His limbs ached with exhaustion, a painful cramp climbing the length of his left leg. Somehow, tugging on his will power, he reached the bank. He pulled Tae to dry land and looked over his body. He didn't seem to be breathing, there was definitely water in his lungs, and he had lost so much blood, the arrows still stuck on him. Jungkook’s strength was failing. He took a few breaths, pulled out the 3 arrows carefully. There was something in the tip of the arrow heads, something like blue ink. He put it aside for now and took off Taehyung’s shirt.

‘Ferula,’ he cast around Taehyung’s abdomen, covering him up with bandages.

Next he opened Taehyung’s mouth. ‘Anapneo,’ he pointed from Taehyung’s lungs to his mouth. Thin streams of water came out, guided by Jungkook’s wand. Jungkook had to be very careful, he had to know when to stop, how to move his wand.

When he thought that enough water had been removed, he bent down, breathing into Taehyung’s mouth and then checking for his pulse.

‘Please…’ he cried, breathing into him again. ‘Please breath,’ he bent low to see if Tae’s chest moved but he was still like a statue, turning blue.

‘Kim Taehyung breathe!’ Jungkook breathed into him again, checking for a pulse and not finding again.

‘You idiot… why’d you jump. KIM TAEHYUNG!’ he shook him, tears rolling down his cheeks and then bent lower to continue the resuscitation. He really was losing all strength now. Jungkook looked at his chest after 4 breaths, observing hard for some movement… any movement.

‘Please Tae…’ he cried and finally… finally there was a small rise and fall in Taehyung’s chest. Almost missable, but he was moving, breathing…

Jungkook fell on his side, feeling relieved, closing his eyes temporarily. He took his wand and pointed it to the sky.

‘Periculum,’

And the sky above burst into red sparks.

*

‘Yoongi! Yoongi!’ Ash shook the boy.  _He’s lost too much blood. What is this arrow?_

In front of her, Hoseok lay unconscious too. What was she to do? How did they even get here? If they were injured so badly, that would mean there were more werewolves or death eaters around here.

‘NAMJOON!???’ Ash called out. He had come to save her from Dromon with some wolves… could he hear her this time? Or will the lurking werewolves hear her first? ‘NAMJOON!!!’

‘ASH!’ She heard his voice in the distance and breathed in relief. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw smoke coming in from there. Was there a fire?

Namjoon and Jin came running towards her.

‘What’s happened? Where are the forest wolves?’ Ash asked.

‘They fought the werewolves… and… two of the werewolves set themselves on fire…’

‘What! Why?’ Ash asked bewildered.

‘So we wouldn't have their bodies. This was a do or die mission…’ Jin said.

‘One of the wolves… also died…’ Namjoon said, looking remorseful. ‘They are creatures of this forest… they fought to protect us outsiders… and lost a life… it's not fair…’

Jin placed a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder. ‘We have to get Dumbledore,’

‘Jimin is still out there,’ Ash said. ‘And we don't know how many werewolves still remain. We have to look for him,’

‘Tae is somewhere here too,’ Jin said. ‘Along with Jungkook,’

‘Yoongi and Hoseok need to be taken back to the castle,’ Namjoon said. ‘One of you please head back with them… we’ve faced enough today,’

‘I'm not leaving without Jimin,’ Ash said resolutely. ‘You should get back. And send for help,’

‘We are far away from the castle. I don’t even know where we are. One of us carrying both Hobi and Yoon, that’s an easy target. We have to stick together,’ Namjoon said.

‘Ferula,’ Ash cast bandages around Yoongi’s wounds. They had managed to remove the arrow. Ash’s wand hand had a broken wrist and she held that close to her chest, trying to not move it.

‘Show me,’ Namjoon stretched out his hand.

‘What?’ Ash looked at him cluelessly.

‘Your broken wrist,’ he said, looking at her right hand and slowly took it. ‘I’m not good with healing spells so I’m not gonna try and end up making it worse,’ he said. ‘Ferula,’ and her wrist was bound and splinted. Namjoon had split his eyebrow while Jin’s right eye was bleeding. Everyone was in so much pain but trying to stay numb about it.

‘How do we look for Tae and Jungkook?’ Jin asked, balancing Hoseok’s unconscious body on his back. He looked in the direction of the cliff where they had jumped. ‘We’ll have to get down to the valley,’

The forest wolves had returned after fighting off the werewolves. There were three of them now, all were injured, bleeding from various cuts and bites.

‘Who are these wolves? They are much bigger than regular wolves,’ Ash asked, looking at them and one of them looked at her directly in the eye, as if they understand what she spoke.

‘Remember that rumour that goes around in Hogwarts?’ Jin said, ‘That there are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest?’

‘Yeah, coz every full moon we can hear wolves howling,’ Namjoon said.

‘Its them. These are wolves, born of a werewolf mating,’ Jin said.

‘What? Is that even possible?’ Ash asked, looking at the beasts. They were beautiful and calm, nothing like the werewolves they had encountered till now.

‘This is the only instance I know of… Dumbledore allowed them to be born in the Forbidden Forest. Maybe he knew they weren’t dangerous,’

‘How do you know this?’ Namjoon asked.

‘I feel like… its like they are speaking to me in my mind,’ Jin said, looking into the grey eyes of one of the wolves. ‘Not with words… but I don’t know how to explain it,’

Namjoon said. ‘They seem to be extremely intelligent. I don't think they attack humans.’

One of the wolves crooned at the back of his throat, nodding his head, like he agreed with what they were saying.

‘Do they understand us?’ Ash asked, moving closer to one of them.

‘I think they do,’ Namjoon said. ‘They found me, being chased by two of werewolves we just saw back there,’ he pointed towards the fire. ‘When I first saw these wolves I thought they were going to attack me but they fought off the werewolves, and then brought me to you,’

‘Will they know where Jimin is?’ Ash asked and then looked at them, ‘Please, help us find him. He’s lost, he needs us. Dromon got injured and ran away, which means he’s still out there. He could take Jimin and run away,’

The wolves nodded and howled then ran in the northern direction, back the way they came in from. Namjoon carried Yoongi and all of them followed.

They entered the thick forest again. The snow hadn’t reached the ground here. Moonlight filtered through the thick trees, taller than anything they had seen.

‘Careful now,’ Jin said. ‘This region…’

‘What about it?’ Ash asked.

‘This is Centaur territory,’ Jin said. ‘I sense it,’

The wolves treaded carefully in front of them, they could all hear a faint din coming from ahead. The wolf looked back at Ash and then looked in front, finally they shot off to different directions.

‘Where are they going?’ Ash asked.

‘I don’t know… but… were they telling us to head towards the noise?’ Namjoon asked.

‘This isn’t their territory so they can’t be here,’ Jin said. ‘They’ve turned back to return, but we have to keep going,’

‘Alright then,’ Ash guided the way with her wand. The noise grew louder, it seemed like an aggressive commotion, screams and shouts growing louder until the three arrived at the scene. A centaur lay dead on the grassy ground, his throat bitten and blood spurting out of it. His chest had four big gashes.

The other centaurs had surrounded the body and whoever had attacked it.

Ash moved between the creatures to get a better view and saw Jimin, bloodshot eyes wild and standing like he’s ready to attack them. He had wounds on his chest and face, like someone had fought with him and his hands were bloody. Ash looked at the centaur’s body and then Jimin again. No, it didn’t match. Not all the wounds on that centaur were from Jimin. Jimin hadn’t transformed completely, his teeth were still human… and that was not the work of a human jaw, the way the centaur’s neck lay ripped open.

One of the centaurs cast a rope and tied Jimin’s arms to his torso, pulling him to the ground.

‘STOP IT!’ Ash screamed, trying to rush towards Jimin.

‘Who’s there!’ one of the centaur asked and they spotted the four students. They saw Ash and blocked her way.

‘Humans, what are you doing here? This is a dangerous place!’ another centaur called.

‘STOP HURTING HIM!’ Ash screamed again.

‘He is one of the invading werewolves! We can’t leave him alive! They killed our brother!’

There was an uproar again and Jimin growled louder, struggling aggressively.

‘He’s not a werewolf! He’s a student of Hogwarts!’ Namjoon pushed forward too. ‘Let him be!’

The Centaurs looked from the four to Jimin, wondering if there was any truth to it all. The centaur started loosening the ropes on Jimin, but Jimin, in his aggressive mindlessness took that opportunity to jump at the Centaur and before Ash or NamJin could do anything, a centaur shot an arrow, hitting Jimin in the arm. He screamed in pain, falling and rolling into a fetus position.

‘EXPULSO!’ Ash shot out at the centaurs blocking her and ran to the front.

‘Jimin…’ she tried to touch him but he roared at her as she came closer.

‘Are you one of them?’ A centaur asked, getting another arrow ready.

‘Stop it Nessos!’ a black centaur came forward. He had sparkling blue eyes. ‘She is just a student. And so is he,’ he looked at Jimin. ‘Can’t you see he hasn’t transformed into his wolf state? Are you all fools?’

‘A brother is dead and you call us fools Firenze? You are the fool, trusting too much in these humans. How do we know they are students for sure? Just a few months ago we had death eaters apparating from our forest,’

‘Hey!’ they heard another familiar sound. ‘Hey, please don’ harm ‘em. They be studen’s’

‘Hagrid…’ Jin breathed in relief.

The big man walked in, lantern in hand and his dog by his side. Behind him was their potions professor in all black, who was clearly was not feeling too comfortable in the company of other creatures.

‘Please, they are studen’s,’ Hagrid said to the Centaurs, holding out his palm and coming to the center.. ‘One o’ ‘em was bitten by a werewolf, but e’s harmless,’

The centaurs moved to the side to let them walk in.

‘Hagrid,’ Jin said urgently. ‘Two more students are in the forest, in a valley,’

‘Don’ worry,’ Hagrid said. ‘Dumbledore’s with ‘em,’

‘Hagrid, this boy is not harmless. He has attacked one of ours,’ Nessos spoke.

‘Only because you are putting him into so much pain!’ Ash screamed back.

‘He invaded our territory with other werewolves!’ another centaur spoke.

‘Please!’ Hagrid tried to calm down the uproar again. ‘This is all a misunderstandin’. Dumbledore will speak to you all!’

‘Why is the forest being attacked Hagrid? This has never happened before!’ The centaurs complained.

‘We are not safe anymore. The Forest is ours, and we will take matter into our hands,’

‘Please, be calm,’ Hagrid continued. ‘The staff is patrollin’. Dumbledore won’ let anythin’ bad happen,’

Snape walked towards Ash and Jimin, retrieving something from the sleeve of his cloak.

‘What is that?’ Ash asked bewildered, seeing the needle and syringe.

‘I cannot give him wolfsbane at this stage,’ Snape said. ‘This is a sedative. We have no other choice, Incarcerous,’ Snape cast the spell, binding Jimin and carefully held Jimin’s neck.

Ash blinked, fighting back tears. This was not fair… this treatment to Jimin was not fair at all. But there didn’t seem to be another way.

Jimin groaned when the needle pricked him. He was rolling, mumbling something with golden eyes half open as the sedative spread through him.

‘Ash… I didn’t do it…’

‘I know…’ Ash stroked his damp hair. ‘Its ok. Sleep now, tomorrow it’s going to be ok,’ she put her cloak over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You knew pain was incoming...
> 
> I forgot to add the moodboards last time! Some of you twitter folks must have seen the Yoongi and Hoseok one. Here are two more!
> 
> [Yoongi](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1123605984780283904?s=20)   
>  [Hoseok](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1123606000651472897?s=20)   
>  [Ash](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1128010884406603776?s=20)   
>  [Jimin](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1128010894858809345?s=20)


	19. A Cold Dawn

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - The Night King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1frgt0D_f4&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic) _

Laura stood against the infirmary wall, watching the the nurses. Ash and Hoseok were here, the latter unconscious and the former barely able to hold herself up. Jungkook lay drenched and unmoving, his lips blue.

‘Dracwyn!’ Madam Pomfrey called sharply for her and Laura jumped a little, looking to her side with fearful wide eyes.

‘We need you,’ Pomfrey pulled her into the solitary wards. Jin lay awake on the bed next to Taehyung’s, a thin tube going from his forearm to Taehyung’s, carrying blood. Namjoon sat on the edge of the bed, a nurse cleaning te wound on his forehead.

‘Min has lost a lot of blood from the arrow wound,’ Pomfrey said, ‘You are listed as his match in the records,’

Laura nodded, taking her place next to her cousin and rolled up her sleeve, ‘Is it just blood loss? Is he going to be ok?’

‘He should be,’

 _Should be…_ That was not enough assurance for Laura. When she glanced at Jin, he looked fearful as well. Laura lay down and the needle went in. Yoongi had to wake up. He was strong, he was a Dracwyn and their blood was not weak. They could survive this.

She glanced towards Taehyung again. The boy had never looked paler. She had tried to show strength so far despite feeling helpless and useless but seeing Taehyung’s frail body made the tears fall down. He was still a child wasn’t he? They all thought of him like their favourite younger brother. But he lay here, unconscious with bleeding wounds, rolled up in bandages. She shut her eyes and looked away. Taehyung had suffered most, and he was just a boy…

Laura was furious, she never took harm towards her loved ones with a forgiving heart. In a way she was guilty, knowing that if she had run out too, she would’ve been of some help, she would’ve given the werewolves what they deserved for doing this, returned the pain tenfold.

‘Where’s Jimin?’ she asked the head nurse. Pomfrey looked towards an inner ward with a closed door.

‘We need to let him rest in solitary,’ Pomfrey said. ‘Don’t worry, I have a watchful eye on him. He should be alright when the sun comes up,’

Their Alchemy Professor entered, holding a glass jar of red liquid in hand.

‘She used a venom called The Bleeder. Here is the antidote for it,’ he said to Pomfrey, giving her the jar. ‘It’s an alchemic venom. Used to draw out blood from a human, prevent the formation of leukocytes so that the victim dies of bleeding. That boy’s blood is the source of his power,’ Hohen looked at Taehyung. ‘It’s an extremely rare venom. Not easy to create. Bellatrix probably has an alchemist with her,’

‘Thank you Hohen,’ Pomfrey said, taking the antidote for Yoongi and Taehyung in syringes.

*

Ash stirred lightly. She could feel the pain in her leg and hand. Her body felt heavy like lead and throat parched. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a golden haired girl, sitting next to her bed, sleeping on her pillow. Her movements made the light sleeper wake up.

‘You’re up,’ Vanessa’s voice was raspy. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Ok… I guess. Where’s Jimin?’

‘He’s in the solitary wards. He’s alright according to Pomfrey at least,’ Vanessa nodded. ‘I should get her. She wanted to see you as soon as you woke up,’

‘Please take me to Jimin first,’

Vanessa nooded, helping her down the the bed. ‘Careful,’ They walked towards the solitary wards. ‘Is your wrist healed?’

‘Yes…’ Ash stepped carefully. Her problematic leg was paining like a bitch. ‘The wrist is fine now,’

They came to the locked door of Jimin’s ward. Ash peered in through the small window. He lay beneath the covers, his wounds looked healed. He seemed to be breathing evenly now.

‘When will he wake up?’ Ash asked.

‘The sun will be up soon,’ said Vanessa, ‘Pomfrey will give him a reversal potion of the sedative. They couldn’t take him out of sedation until his half werewolf phase passed,’

‘Will he be ok now?’

‘Yes. Once the full moon passes its peak, the effects fade off. Approaching the full moon is harder than after it passes,’

‘Hey guys,’ they heard Yoongi and turned to see him walking with Laura’s support. His torso was bandaged as well, skin paler than usual. ‘How are you?’

‘You should stay in bed Yoon,’ Vanessa said to him but he shook his head.

‘I need to see Hobi,’

Hoseok was faintly aware of the voices around him… He remembered hearing two girls but now it was silent again. He was too ashamed to wake up. It should be him in Yoongi’s place, lying with a painful, bleeding wound. He couldn’t come to Yoongi’s aid. His own body fell unconscious when Yoongi needed him the most. He was weak. And he did not deserve any of this care.

_You’re right, you don’t deserve this._

_You’re weak._

_Hopeless…_

_All you’ll get is their pity._

‘Hobi?’ ‘Hobi are you awake?’ that one voice cut through the faceless voices in his head and he opened his eyes to see Yoongi standing over him.

Yoongi’s face lightened in a smile.

‘Ah you’re finally awake! How are you?’ Yoongi took his hand. Hoseok lay motionless, unable to understand why was he still receiving this love and care.

‘Hobi?’ Yoongi pulled back and he saw Ash and Vanessa were beside him too. ‘Hobi are you ok? Why aren’t you saying anything?’

Hoseok looked away and tried to sit up.

‘Say something Hobi?’ Yoongi asked him again, looking extremely worried.

‘I… I’m fine,’ Hoseok said. And he was fine. He hadn't sustained any injuries like the others. He should be fine.

‘Oh, thank god,’ Yoongi sighed in relief. Ash smiled and patted Hoseok’s shoulder, making his body rigid.

‘How’s everyone else?’ Hoseok asked, looking to Jungkook’s bed next to him. ‘When will he wake up?’

‘We don’t know, but he’s recovering now. Everyone’s safe,’

‘What happened to Jimin?’

‘It's a long story,’ Ash said. ‘The werewolves were making him turn but he didn't… not completely. He’s resting now… will probably sleep through the day,’

Yoongi glanced at Vanessa and motioned her to leave him alone with Hoseok. Vanessa nodded and took Ash with her to see Taehyung.

‘Hobi?’ Yoongi asked softly. ‘What happened?’

Hobi pretended to not understand what he was talking about and Yoongi pouted.

‘Are you having attacks again? I remember you didn’t look too well in the courtyard last night,’ He asked, lilac eyes holding Hoseok’s gaze strongly.

‘When.. when I saw Ash on the floor… hurt and bleeding… It reminded me of when I attacked her,’

Yoongi ran a hand through his hair. Its like their troubles never ended.

‘Listen,’ Hoseok said. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,’

‘Hobi,’ Yoongi kept his hand on his. ‘I want you to listen to me, without feeling bad about anything because there’s nothing to feel bad about,’

‘What is it?’

‘We can’t ignore the problem, if you aren’t keeping well, physically or mentally,’

Hoseok looked away.

‘Don’t turn away from me. This is important Hobi,’

‘I’m listening,’ he said, face still looking the other way.

‘If you aren’t well, it’s serious. Any issue of the mind is much more harder to treat than a physical ailment. Our minds are so powerful, they can trick us,’

‘Why are you saying these things right now?’

‘I heard you talking you in your sleep Hobi,’

Hobi froze, ‘I… I don’t talk-’

‘You were talking about… getting weaker, about losing,’

Hoseok slowly turned to Yoongi.

‘Please, open up to me,’ Yoongi pleaded. ‘We can do this together,’

*

‘Severus, a word in my office,’ Dumbledore said to Snape who just exited the infirmary after helping Pomfrey with Jimin.

Snape nodded and both left to his office.

‘I told you we needed more precautions,’ Snape said.

‘You were right Severus. I have gravely underestimated the Death Eaters,’ Dumbledore said remorsefully.

‘What did you want to speak with me?’ They stood in front of each other on either side of Dumbledore’s desk. Daylight was still a few hours away. Fawkes slept on his perch soundly.

‘I need to know everything… everything that you know of Bellatrix Lestrange,’ Dumbledore’s blue eyes pierced into Dumbledore.

‘Our arrangement did not include me ratting out on my years with the Death Eaters,’

‘You do realise I haven't asked you any questions about them in your 10 years of service here,’

‘Then why now,’

‘I cannot see the boy becoming a sacrifice for Voldemort’s second coming,’

Snape’s lip twitched at the mention of his former master, ‘He is not coming back,’

‘Severus, you know as well as I do, the extent of his powers. Denial will not help anyone,’

Snape looked at Dumbledore in the eye and then turned to pace the room.

‘Bellatrix Lestrange was the Dark Lord’s right hand. He trusted her more than anyone else… to an extent where I thought he might even care for her life… or maybe he just valued her life for what she could offer him,’

‘And what is that?’

‘Unconditional devotion. If the Dark Lord would tell her to set herself on fire and die for him that instant, she would not hesitate. If he told her to kill her own mother or her true born child, she would not hesitate. She only saw him, only wanted to serve him and become the most revered follower in his eyes,’

‘She has a mad mind. But is she capable of leading death eaters? That requires a bit of organisational skills,’

‘She only followed the Dark Lord, never tried to lead… until now. Now she’s giving it her all it seems. She's probably taken over the responsibility of continuing his terror,’

‘And you think the rest will follow her?’

‘They are all afraid of her. The ones who believe that the Dark Lord will return think obeying her is the safest option. The others… there could be chances of mutiny if enough people agree to want to kill her,’

‘Which means, unity is not their best quality right now,’

‘She will be enraged when she finds out her plans didn't work. She might do something reckless,’ Snape turned to Dumbledore. ‘Maintaining a cool temper has never been in her behavioural qualities.

‘If she does then we are lucky,’ Dumbledore said. ‘I'll be ready for all her recklessness,’

* * *

‘CRUCIO!!!’ The red sparks from Belltarix’s wand hit Selene the werewolf. She screamed in pain, twisting on the wooden floor.

‘YOU WILL DIE OF THIS PAIN!!’ The red light shines brighter and Selene dug her nails into the floorboard, scratching them in the immeasurable pain.

Dromon stood with two of his wolf brothers, slightly shaking at the knees. Death Eaters surrounded them, wands aimed at their necks.

‘YOU SHOULD’VE BURNED YOURSELF ALIVE INSTEAD OF COMING BACK HERE AND NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING TO DO TO YOU! CONFRIGO!’

Flames from her wand enveloped the Selene and bellatrix sat on her chair, watching her wail and burn. Her eyes stared into the flames eating on the women’s flesh, how it melted and fell off her bones, charring it to black.

‘WHO’S NEXT? WHERE’S DROMON?’

Anesbek knelt next to Bellatrix, ‘Madam Lestrange, please, think of our long term plan,’

Bellatrix, breathing heavily in anger snapped her head to the man.

‘We need the wolves on our side. They are large in number,’ Anesbek said. ‘They already lost 2 of them in the forest. You killed one here. You have instilled fear in them. But we can't harm them more if we need them on our side,’

Bellatrix stared him, finally calming down.

‘We can launch an attack again,’ Dromon cried from the sides. ‘We’ll take more people, we-’

‘No,’ Bellatrix held her hand up. ‘There's no use of that. You are a fool if you think Dumbledore will let us come anywhere near those boys again. I won't try to bring them in anymore,’

‘What do you mean?’ Dolohov asked.

‘We tried three times and we couldn't separate that boy from Hogwarts,’ Bellatrix turned to the werewolves. ‘Go back to your forest now. I am not carrying out any plans,’

Everyone started whispering and murmuring at her decision.

‘Are we giving up? Is this all? Bellatrix?’

But she didn’t respond.

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Carter Burwell - The Lion Fell In Love with the Lamb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd2NiAjGZMg&ab_channel=silvascreentracks) _

‘How much longer?’ Namjoon asked the nurse. He was alright now, but in front of him, Jin and Taehyung lay next to each other. Taehyung’s upper body was fully bandaged.

‘I’m fine Joonie,’ Jin said, seeing how worried he was.

‘Don’t worry Namjoon,’ the nurse said. ‘We know when to stop taking the blood. We won’t let Seokjin go weak,’ she looked at him with certainty.

‘Yeah… sorry. I’m just…’ Namjoon ran his hands on his face in exhaustion.

‘That’s why we have been telling you to rest since the past 2 hours,’ the nurse put back the used up equipment into her box. She went to check the reading on the blood bag scale and then nodded.

‘Yes we are good to go,’ she swiftly removed the needle from Jin’s hand. ‘Jin, you can rest now. Call us if you need anything,’

‘Sure,’ Jin nodded, sitting up on his bed. The nurse nodded to Namjoon and then left. Jin got down from the bed, despite Namjoon’s protests and walked a little. His body felt sore and numb, he had been lying in that position for too long.

‘Can we go to the courtyard?’ Jin asked. He walked towards an open window, the infirmary was putting his mood down.

‘Not until we have Pomfrey’s signature,’ Namjoon came beside him. Jin turned to him, but didn’t say anything. He was simply looking at him.

‘Wh-at?’ Namjoon asked awkwardly.

Jin let out a breath and put his arms around Namjoon’s waist. His cheek rubbed on Namjoon’s ear and Jin only seemed to snuggle closer.

‘Are you ok?’ Namjoon asked him, hands hovering over Jin’s back.

‘I want to hug you,’ Jin said simply and finally felt Namjoon’s shoulders relax. The younger’s hands came to rest on Jin’s waist. ‘I could’ve… we could’ve lost a lot today,’

‘No Jin-’

‘Shh. You know it could’ve happened. Makes us realize… we shouldn’t hold back… in what we want to do and say right?’

‘Yeah…’ Namjoon agreed, reddening.

‘So that’s why I’m hugging you right now. And I’ll hug you as much as I want, for as long as I want, until you smack my forehead and tell me to go away,’

Namjoon laughed. ‘Have I ever done that?’

‘I’ll take that as a yes to my hug requests then,’ Jin pulled him closer, hands moving on Namjoon’s back. His face moved to nestle in the curve of Namjoon’s neck, eyelashes tickling the long column. Namjoon’s fingers moved from the top of Jin’s head to his neck, stroking soothingly. He could feel Jin’s soft lips on his collarbones and that sent an intense flutter in his stomach.

Jin pulled away after a while, but Namjoon’s hands travelled from Jin’s arms to hold his fingers and both looked at each other, still standing close.

‘Namjoon, you are my family now,’ Jin said.

Namjoon’s eyebrows slightly narrowed at that, wondering what he meant.

*

When Laura got back to the main wards, it was empty. Yoongi and Hoseok had gone to speak to Pomfrey, it looked very serious and Laura prayed it wasn’t another new problem. Ash was refusing to leaving Jimin’s side. Now that the sun was up, his body had gotten back to how it was. She leaned against the door frame, feeling slightly light headed after the transfusion. That moment she saw movement on the last bed were Jungkook was and heard a low groan. Laura’s face changed to alert mode and she ran to him. Jungkook was awake, smiling weakly, a bandaged hand waving at her.

‘You idiot!’ Laura sat next to him. ‘Who jumps off a cliff!!’ She was about to cry of anger and relief. ‘Gave me a heart attack!’

He smiled, bopping her nose like a button and laughed.

‘I swear Jeon Jungkook if you laugh-’

‘What? Will you hit an injured person? How mean of you!’ And he sniggered watching her pout and flare her eyes.

‘Hey, I’m totally fine,’ he smiled warmly again, ‘Come here,’ he opened his arms for a hug and Laura’s cheeks heated up again. Jungkook was certainly a lot more forthcoming in terms of showing affection, and she never knew how to. She slowly slide into the hug and gave him a short peck on the lips, making him giggle.

‘What is the time?’ Jungkook looked outside. It had stopped snowing and the sky was blue now.

‘Its almost 8 AM,’ Laura said, looking at her wrist watch. ‘I have class today… I can’t miss. Pomfrey would not allow so many of us to sit here in the infirmary,’

‘I wanna go see Tae,’ Jungkook said. Laura nodded and Jungkook started to take the blanket off him, realizing he’s shirtless when the cold temperature hit him.

‘Oh god it’s freezing,’ he pulled the blanket back on himself.

‘Yeah, all your clothes were soaked. Hold on, I’ll get you a robe or something,’ Laura went to the shelves with the infirmary cloaks stacked on them.

‘Size Large would do,’ Jungkook said and Laura found one in the cream set of clothes.

‘Here,’ she held it out for him. Jungkook took the blanket off and Laura tried not to ogle at him, even though the brief glimpse of his evidently muscular chest tempted her, making her face feel even hotter. She held up the robe for him, conveniently hiding her face behind it and Jungkook grinned seeing her shy again, just her hands and the top of her head visible from behind the fabric. He put his hands through the arm holes.

‘Would you help me tie it?’ she heard him say in a deep voice as his broad back faced her. She slowly moved to the front, hands at the collar of the robe, eyes trying to look away from the strip of naked skin in front of her but where else was she to look? He was beautiful, sculpted from neck till below his navel and she gulped.

‘You’re going red,’ he teased her. ‘I wonder why,’

She could picture the cocky smile on his lips. ‘You moron, you do it yourself then-’ she started to move away but he held both her wrists tightly and pulled her closer, making her hands press against his chest. She felt the rise and fall of his breaths. She knew he was looking at her so she looked up, meeting his intense gaze. He was challenging her, yet again and it was exciting as always. Of course, she wasn’t going to back down. Her hands caressed down towards the sash slowly, thumb and forefinger running on his naked skin. Jungkook’s jaw worked, he wanted so bad to smirk at his victory, but the way Laura was looking at him and the feel of her burning fingers on his skin was disarming him with each passing moment. She caught the sash and closed it tightly around him, pulling him closer.

‘Done,’ he saw her lips move as she spoke in a sultry voice that he hadn’t heard before. Her lips were close to his like she would kiss him any moment. But she turned around and Jungkook could feel her smirking, ‘Let’s go now,’ she said and walked out of the room into the inner wards.

‘Hey guys,’ Jungkook entered with Laura, eyes catching Namjoon and Jin in a hug. The two slowly moved away with embarrassed smiles.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Rupert Gregson William - Bring Him Home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbhWD1X0gBc&ab_channel=EsatE.)_

‘How’s Tae?’ Laura asked, sitting beside his bed. Seeing him in this state was not easy.

‘Getting better,’

Laura placed her hand on Taehyung’s, ‘He’s cold. Is that… normal for him?’

‘I guess so,’ Jin said. ‘Dumbledore didn't seem worried when Pomfrey told him his temperature was unnaturally low,’

‘Dumbledore…’ Laura muttered under her breath.

‘What?’ Namjoon asked her about the disgruntled mood.

‘I thought Dumbledore was training Tae. He is aware of the danger Tae faces isn't he? Why hasn't security been tightened yet?’

‘He’s increased the patrolling and shield charms, and increased the anti-apparition perimeter too,’ Jin said.

‘It took him six injured students and two attempts by Death Eaters to do that?’ Laura was getting angry.

‘Could you predict that werewolves would come to the forest? How did they even know that Jimin was infected?’ Jin defended Dumbledore. ‘The security of the castle had been maxed up after their first break in. He’s a great wizard but he’s human too,’

‘Tae needs to learn how to fight. Like a true Elkyre,’ Laura said.

‘It's true,’ Jungkook agreed. ‘That’s the only way he can protect himself. What if one day we aren’t there?’

‘I’m sure Dumbledore will train him harder,’ said Jin.

‘But are you sure he knows  _how_ to train him?’ Laura asked and Jin sighed, looking away.

Taehyung stirred lightly. He could hear voices around him but his eyelids seemed to be stuck together.

‘His eyes are moving,’ it was Jungkook’s voice. ‘Is he awake?’

‘Tae?’ That was Laura and then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

‘Tae are you awake?’ That was Namjoon…

 _Jimin! Where was Jimin? Was he ok?_ His eyes opened in a flash and he looked at everyone.

‘Oh thank god,’ Namjoon breathed in relief.

‘Where’s Jimin? Where’s everyone else?’ Taehyung looked around frantically.

‘Everyone is fine,’ Laura said. ‘Relax,’

‘I… I want to see Dumbledore,’

‘Right now?’ Jungkook asked. ‘You should rest right now, you can talk to him later,’

‘No,’ Taehyung was already getting out of the bed despite Jungkook trying to make him stay. ‘I have to see him, hear what he was to say. Do you think I'll be able to rest with all these questions in my mind? Where’s my robe?’

Seeing his determined face, Jungkook stepped aside. ‘Alright, let’s go,’

Jungkook walked with Taehyung to Dumbledore’s office. Some students were up and walking, luckily none of them noticed how bandaged up Taehyung was beneath his sweaters and cloaks. Taehyung spoke in the password and the gargoyle stepped aside, revealing the spiral staircase. They reached the great oak doors but halted, hearing tensed voices from the other side.

‘No Albus!’ It sounded like Madam Pomfrey. ‘How do you expect me to feel any kind of relief from this?’

‘Poppy, this is the best we can do now,’ Dumbledore said.

‘They are children Albus! Children! A 14 year old boy, shot by arrows, he almost drowned! Werewolves about to feast on other students and you are telling me you can't get Aurors?’

‘The ministry is the last body that needs to be involved,’ They heard a nasal voice.

‘Snape is here too?’ Jungkook whispered to Taehyung.

‘Please Poppy,’ McGonagall added. ‘I am as shocked and terrified as you are. But we have to trust in our own abilities to protect them. Hogwarts is impenetrable. You know what happens when the Ministry tries to get their claws into this school. It will become another ground for them to play their political games. Is that what you want Hogwarts to become? A place of inequality?’

‘As long as the boys stay in Hogwarts, they are protected,’ Dumbledore said. ‘I will increase the boundaries within the Forbidden Forest. I will ask the communities living within the forest to help us patrol it,’

‘You think the Centaurs will agree to that?’ Sprout was present there too. ‘They do not like to work for humans,’

‘We have to try,’ Flitwick said.

‘This is why I won't be relieved,’ Pomfrey said. ‘Trying isn't enough here Albus! Children’s lives are at stake and all you are giving me is uncertain solutions,’

‘Poppy have you lost your faith in me?’ Dumbledore asked her. ‘You know that the welfare of the students is the most important thing to me, or I would've let the Ministry control this school long ago. I assure you I will do everything in my power to keep them safe,’

‘I hope that is enough,’ Pomfrey said. ‘I must leave now. There are patients to attend to,’ the boys heard her walk towards the door and plastered themselves against the wall. But Pomfrey’s eyes caught them as soon as she stepped out.

‘Wha- what in the world! You both are supposed to be in the infirmary!’

‘I just want to talk to Dumbledore,’ Taehyung said.

‘That can be done later!’ Pomfrey was furious. ‘I have to check you up first and-’

‘Please Madame Pomfrey,’ Taehyung asked earnestly. ‘I need to talk to him,’

Pomfrey’s big green eyes looked at him for a while and then gave in. ‘Alright. But after that you come straight to me. Jungkook you have no excuse. With me, right now!’

Taehyung heard her voice fade out. ‘Dumbledore says you must attend class! They will wonder why the Ravenclaw prefect is in the infirmary with 7 others….’

Taehyung sighed and entered Dumbledore’s office. He nodded at the professors present there.

‘How are you dear?’ Madam Sprout came to him, her brown eyes full of worry. She was in a hassled state, curly grey hair sticking out from the sides of her hat.

‘I’m alright professor,’ Taehyung gave her a tight smile and then turned his head towards Dumbledore. ‘I want to speak with you Headmaster,’

‘Yes…’ Dumbledore walked towards him. ‘I’m sure you do,’ he looked at his teachers and nodded at them to disperse.

As soon as the teachers were behind closed doors, Taehyung’s eyes locked on Dumbledore. ‘You need to teach me to be stronger! To fight!’

‘I have been teaching you-’

‘You have been teaching me how to hide myself well. That’s not what I want,’

‘It’s what is good for you. Taehyung, you are underage and I don’t want a student trying to pick a fight with the Death Eaters. We are here to protect you,’

‘Are you? Because Jimin was all alone. We were students, all alone in that forest,’

‘No one expected werewolves to invade the forest. It’s never happened in the history of Hogwarts,’

Taehyung huffed and looked away, his face red in anger.

‘Taehyung,’ Dumbledore moved closer. ‘No part of Hogwarts will be attacked again. You and your friends are completely safe here and that is my promise to you,’

‘I won’t be in Hogwarts forever,’ the boy said. ‘Do I stay here during summer too? That’s technically not allowed.’

‘I’ll make sure you will be protected at home,’ Dumbledore said.

‘We’ll see,’ Taehyung did not look at Dumbledore and turned around to leave without further words.

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - Dead Before The Dawn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p79GqP9Tl-0&ab_channel=WaterTowerMusic) _

Jimin had been given permission to shift to his dormitory when he woke up in the evening. He was in no mood to speak to anyone and would just silently sit after asking if everyone was out of danger. Ash was with him throughout. Maybe he was way too exhausted, or in trauma… or a bit of both. Coming back from that night was anything but easy. Ash chewed on her lower lip constantly as she watched Pomfrey give him the reversal potion, as she helped him change into fresh clothes. She and Vanessa took him back to his room to rest for the Night.

'There's something I need to do,' Jimin said when they took him in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

'Jimin, it can be done later,' Yoongi said but Jimin wasn't giving in.

'It's important,' the boy said. 'I need to... I need to thank the forest wolves and apologise to all of them,'

When they all realised Jimin was not going to give in, Yoongi nodded and made his way to Dumbledore's office.

At dusk, Jimin, Ash and Dumbledore re-entered the Forbidden Forest. The snow still drizzled over them. Dumbledore led them into a clearing surrounded by tall fir trees.

'The centaurs? Will they come?' Jimin asked.

'It's best if we don't instigate any interaction with them for now Jimin,' Dumbledore said. 'They do not want to be contacted, but I'll make sure your words reach them,'

Hagrid had been asked to bring the dead wolf's body here, Jimin had requested if the creature could be buried and they saw the big man enter with 4 other big wolves following him. They were nearly the height of Jimin's shoulder, their fur shades of brown, grey and black. When the creatures approached, they sniffed at Ash's feet who stood still out of slight fear. But they didn't seem to harbour any ill feelings towards the humans. The wolves came closer to Jimin and he could see the sadness in their eyes at having lost one of their own. Their ears were downturned, they were in mourning. Dumbledore took his wand out to dig the ground but Jimin stopped him, taking out his own and planting it in the earth.

'Conlidam Interra,' he cast the spell in a quiet voice and the earth cracked, loosening and falling in. He motioned to Hagrid to lay the big wolf into the ground and once the wolf was laid, Jimin started to push the soil onto the grave. Ash knelt beside him, doing the same.

'We should help 'im,' Hagrid made a move but Dumbledore stopped him, gesturing him to move back.

'I think we should let Mr. Park do what's necessary,' the Headmaster said, taking Hagrid further back so that Jimin could have his solemn moment. 

Tears started to roll down Jimin's cheeks as he spread more soil over the wolf's body. He sniffed, wiping his cheek, making the dirt smudge on him. Ash didn't interrupt him either.

Jimin heard the wolves whimper and come near him, their muzzle sniffing at his dark hair.

'I'm sorry,' the boy whispered. 'I'm sorry. I never wanted to harm you,' He broke down crying, sitting on the ground and the wolves circled him closely, whimpering even more, trying to lift his hand with their noses, like they understood what Jimin was saying, what he was going through.

'It's done Jimin,' Ash said, patting the slight depression of the filled grave.

The wolves sat on Jimin's either side, sounding a last unified howl for their buried sibling as the sun set.

*

The walk back to the castle was silent. Jimin skipped his supper again, he was so quiet and seemed so isolated that no one even argued with him to feed him.

‘Don’t worry,’ Jimin finally spoke when he sat on his bed. ‘I’m ok. I’m just tired,’

‘I know,’ Yoongi smiled from beside him. ‘I know you are okay. You’re too strong to be weakened by this. You did well Jiminnie,’ he stroked his head. ‘I’m really proud of you. Now rest up well, we have a ball to go to,’ he patted his back and moved to his own bed. Ash kneeled in front of Jimin and held his face.

‘Can I sleep with you? For a while?’ she asked.

Jimin’s eyes widened a little, ‘Are you sure?’

‘Why wouldn’t I be sure? I… I think I’ll miss you too much if I am not with you. I want to be here, where you are close to me. I won’t feel good without you,’

Jimin’s dispassionate face changed for the first time. Ash needed him… he was needed, he had to be there for her.

‘Come,’ he said, lying on the bed and making space for her. Ash climbed in and Jimin put the blanket over her. She snuggled close, hands fisting on his shirt and he embraced her, limbs moving till both felt comfortable.

'I promise I'll be better tomorrow,' Jimin said.

'Jimin, you can take all the time you need,'

'I know... I just, I have to say this to myself. I don't know how else to wake up in the morning,' Jimin closed his eyes. He had felt nothing but guilt and shame from the moment he woke up. He didn’t remember much… everything was broken in his mind, disconnected. The only common thing in all those memories was the immense pain he felt in his body. He remembered another werewolf, he remembered Ash screaming. He remembered her chasing him for a while. He doesn’t know what he did after that. And then his mind was full of flashes of a fight… with centaurs and more wolves, until again, he remembered Ash coming to him.

What had he done? Had he harmed anyone in his wolfish madness? Everyone said that everything was fine. Were they lying to make him feel better? He wasn’t able to meet anyone in the eye. Until Ash made him feel that she needed him. Despite everything, she still needed him. That was the only thing anchoring him. The scent of her hair helped him fall asleep.

The next morning, Jimin walked down the stairs of the common room after the 24 hour rest. His strength had returned to him, but with that a heaviness about the events of last night. He felt much better, lighter and more energetic. The memories of the night before were slowly taking a backseat in his mind, letting more positive feelings occupy the front, thanks to the supporting words of his friends. There were still moments when he felt he’s falling back, but he would pull away from it instantly. He knew his habit, once he let the dark thoughts in, they build on him till he drowned in them. He had to keep himself distracted.

‘Hey,’ he came to Ash and pecked her cheek quickly.

‘Good morning,’ she smiled. ‘Ready for class?’

‘Mmmhmm,’ he nodded close to her face, making his hair tickle on her sensitive ears and she shivered, giggling.

‘It was weird,’ they heard Hoseok walk towards them with Yoongi.

‘Well, that was the only time I broke character,’ Yoongi said. He sat on his usual spot and pulled Hoseok to sit with him.

‘What was weird?’ Jimin asked.

‘Him being you,’ Hoseok whispered. ‘He would look at me the way you look at Ash. Won’t that be weird if I got that look from you?’

‘Jimin looks at me the way Yoongi looks at you?’ Ash asked. If that was true, this was the most adorable thing she had heard the entire month. The way Yoongi looked at Hoseok would make any heart cry. It was a special gaze that no one else could have.

Jimin laughed, hiding his face behind his hands and his eyes becoming nearly closed. This is what he needed now, being carefree with his true and real friends.

Yoongi chuckled flicking his hair backward. ‘Well maybe it was weird coz I play Jimin so convincingly despite being tall-’

‘We are the same height,’ Jimin interrupted crossly.

Yoongi raised an eyebrow, ‘Um no, we’re not,’

Jimin squared up his chest sitting up straighter, challenge in his eyes. ‘You wanna bet?”

‘Pipe down pipsqueak,’ Yoongi drawled.

Laura walked in, rolling her eyes, ‘Yoongi, you have terrible posture.’

Jimin giggled into his hand again. It was always fun to watch Laura and Yoongi bicker.

‘Yoongs you are only a centimeter taller than Park Jimin,’ Vanessa whispered as she arranged her potion vials in her bag.

‘No fucking way,’ Yoongi would’nt have any of it. ‘The world looked different from his height.’

Hoseok smiled at his boyfriend, giving him a fond look. ‘Sure.’

His answer incensed Yoongi further because Jimin and Laura were hiding their smiles now. If it were some other audience and setting, the Slytherin would have decimated anyone within his reach. But these were people he didn’t mind laughing at him, didn’t mind being made fun of. His cheeks were as warm as his chest when he rubbed a hand over his face.

Laura beamed at Ash, ‘Well, you finally caught those people who have been plotting to expose Jimin. What’s the verdict about them?’

‘Jessica, Annie and Freddie are facing suspension. The rest are pleading for something less severe, let’s see what Dumbledore decides. It does feel easier to breathe in the castle now,’ Ash nodded. ‘I didn’t get as many judgemental stares as day before,’

*

‘I bought something for you,’ Jin kept the package in front of Namjoon on the bed. They had retreated to their room for a while during lunch.

‘You did?’ Namjoon was surprised. ‘But… what’s the occasion?’

‘No occasion. I don't need an occasion to gift you something,’ Jin smiled. ‘Go on, open it. I hope you like it,’

Namjoon excitedly ripped the wrapper, almost dropping the wide, thin box but catching it in time. He opened the cover and inside was a light blue silk shirt. His eyes widened looking at the beautiful fabric.

‘Jin…’

‘Ah… is it not your choice? I thought so,’ Jin rubbed the back of his head. ‘It's more of my kind. I really liked it, thought it would suit you very well. But it's ok, I can exchange it-’

‘Are you kidding me? It's looks amazing!’ Namjoon took it in his hands. ‘And feels amazing!’

Jin’s grin broke out widely, ‘Then go on! Try it!’ He urged him. Namjoon nodded and moved to the mirror, taking his shirt off and putting this on. In the reflection of the mirror, Namjoon didn't miss the quick glance Jin gave him in between his change of clothing and smiled to himself. Namjoon fumbled with the buttons. They were toggles, with a strip of cloth covering them.

‘Aaah!’ He cursed, failing with one of them for the third time.

‘Come here you,’ Jin came to him, turning Namjoon towards himself. Effortlessly he buttoned him up and then tugged on the ribbon running along the collar to adjust it to Namjoon’s neck. Jin’s hands then lingered on his chest, caressing from the neck till the shoulders, ‘There, it looks perfect,’

‘It does?’ Namjoon looked at Jin who was looking all over Namjoon intently.

‘It does,’ Jin said affirmatively.

‘I’ll wear this for the Yule Ball,’ Namjoon said.

‘And who are you going with? Have you decided?’

‘Out of all the people who’ve asked me, I don't want it go with anyone,’ Namjoon turned to the mirror and looked at himself, smiling contently at the way he looked, something which he didn't do too often. ‘Thanks Jinnie,’ he said and Jin came next to him to rest his chin on Namjoon’s shoulder.

‘I knew I had to see you in it once I saw it. It's meant for you,’ Jin said, making Namjoon smile bashfully, dimples showing on his pink cheeks. Jin poked them softly. ‘Ok stop looking even cuter with your dimples,’

Namjoon was brimming with happiness at Jin’s words and how his body felt so warm against his.

‘Oh I have to decide what I'm wearing too!’ Jin went to his cupboard, removing a few of his dress shirts.

‘Which one do you prefer?’ He held out a burgundy and a white shirt for Namjoon to see. Namjoon moved closer to see them properly and chose the burgundy.

‘Ok let’s try this,’ Jin pulled his t-shirt over his head. They had been shirtless in front of each other a number of times, but that was in the company of their other roommates. Only this year had Jin and Namjoon decided to change to twin sharing, after a lot of self contemplation of whether the proposal of it would seem awkward to the other. And since then, the few times they had been in and out of their daily clothes in front of each other, both had been too shy to let their gazes linger for more than a second.

For the first time, Jin stood so close to Namjoon, in nothing but his pants. Namjoon awkwardly took a few steps back and sat on Jin’s bed, eyes on the floor.

‘Oh wait,’ Jin looked around. ‘There was this light pink shirt too,’ He found it lying on his bed, right behind Namjoon.

‘Here it is,’ Jin bent lower, almost over Namjoon who felt dizzy from the scent of strawberries and the heat radiating from the bare skin on Jin’s neck. Jin straightened up, holding the shirt against him. ‘How do you think this will look?’

‘All… All look good,’ Namjoon said, face too red and eyes blinking too much.

‘Are you ok?’ Jin asked, eyebrows narrowed in concern. He bent lower again, bringing his face in front of Namjoon’s. ‘Do you have a fever?’ He put his hand on Namjoon’s forehead.

‘No no,’ Namjoon looked down, eyes briefly trailing over Jin’s chest, down to his abs. ‘I’m,’ he cleared his throat, ‘I’m totally fine,’

‘Oh… ok,’ Jin stood up. ‘So tell me then! Which one do you prefer? I’ll wear what you like. I hope they still fit me. They aren’t that new,’

‘They should fit you… I choose the light pink,’

‘Light pink is it then,’ Jin wore it, buttoning it up smoothly and showing Namjoon who nodded approvingly and stood beside Jin in front of the mirror.

‘We look good,’ Jin said. Above all, he liked the way they looked together. He slid an arm around Namjoon’s back and rested his head on his shoulder.

‘We do,’ Namjoon agreed.

After class, a note was given to Jin and Namjoon from Taehyung.

‘He wants to meet us in the Room of Requirement,’ Namjoon read it. ‘At 6PM’

‘Ok,’ Jin said. ‘I was expecting that,’

At 6, the trust circle was present in the Room of Requirements. They entered to find the same white table, but this time the walls weren't red. They were simply gray and vacant. Taehyung sat at the head of one end and Jin took the other.

‘I’ve called you all here to tell you something. Hopefully you all won’t jump at me together,’

‘We won't jump at you,’ Jungkook said.

Taehyung did not seem convinced by his words and continued, ‘Whatever has happened this year at Hogwarts, it’s put us all in great danger, more than once. Many times we are left to ourselves to protect our lives. And I feel responsible for this. The Death Eaters want me, not you guys. But you all are always pulled into this mess… I want to do this on my own. This is something relating to me, I don't expect you to understand,’

‘But we can do this together Tae,’ Jungkook said.

‘No, you all don’t have to be involved in this. And don’t have to try and figure out ways for me. It comes to a point were you all need to stop trying to control my decisions,’

‘That's not what we do,’ Laura cut in.

‘We only advice you because sometimes some of us know better Tae,’ Hoseok said.

‘That's what you think,’ Taehyung said. ‘Don't tell me everything you all have done in your lives has always been the right thing to do,’

‘If I see you about to do something stupid, should I not stop you?’ Hoseok asked.

‘We are trying to guide you because we care for you,’ Jin said. ‘You are like our younger brother,’

Taehyung seemed to be controlling his words, lips tight over his teeth and hands resisting to curl, pretending to be relaxed. ‘No,’ he spoke after a few moments. ‘You are not guiding me, you are imposing your decisions on me. You still aren’t ready to listen to me. I will never know if my decision was right or wrong if you all stop me from trying it at all,’

‘To be fair you are fourteen Taehyung,’ Yoongi said. ‘You are not a legal wizard, you are still under parental guidance. You can't just pretend like you are totally free to do whatever you want,’

‘And how were you at fourteen? I'm sure you would've gone out of your way to prove an older wizard wrong, who spoke to you exactly what you said to me right now,’

Yoongi’s jaw worked. Taehyung was right after all. What Yoongi hated more than anything else was captivity, denying the right to do as you please with your life… he would’ve never agreed to someone else making the decisions for him. The glance Laura gave him confirmed it.

'If you are using your age as a factor to guide me,' Taehyung continued, 'then Dumbledore is probably a hundred years older than us. And has he made all the right choices? Despite him being here, what had to happen happened. No one protect someone completely,'

‘And what do you intend to do, without our interference?’ Jin asked, leaning forward on the table.

‘I don't know yet. I'm trying to figure it out. But I have to do it on my own,’

‘Tae you can't be serious about this,’ Laura said, looking very concerned.

Taehyung gave a lopsided frown, disappointment showing in his eyes, ‘I guess we are off to a bad start then. You all are my friends and I care for you. If anything happens to you because of me, I wont be able to bear it. I want you all to respect my decision. Don't I have that basic right on myself that I do what I think is right? Or am I a complete imbecile who can't tell black from white?’

‘We never said that you are-’

‘Then let me do this,’ Taehyung said resolutely. Jimin and Jungkook were silent. Glancing from Taehyung to each other.

‘We should listen to him,’ Jungkook finally said.

‘I agree,’ Jimin added and the two garnered surprised looks from everyone.

‘Thank you,’ Taehyung said, finally looking a little relaxed. ‘For the rest who don’t agree with me, I didn’t come to discuss this, I came here to tell you all that this is my final decision,’ he stood up. ‘You all are my friends, so please, respect my decision,’ he left the table, leaving the elders exasperated.

‘Don't do this Tae!’ Hoseok called after him. ‘You think about it-’ Hoseok stood up to go after him but Ash caught his arm.

‘Don't,’ Ash said. ‘Not right now. It's of no use,’

‘What do you mean?’ Hoseok looked at her disbelievingly.

‘What Tae is asking for is not unreasonable. We need to give him a chance to prove his decisions aren't gonna lead us all to doom,’

‘Do you know what his decision led to last time? The whole werewolf chase in the forest. To a point where Tae was trying to take them all by himself,’

‘He was trying to protect us, just like he’s trying to keep us away from further trouble right now,’

‘His heart might be in the right place but his brain is not. He thinks he can do anything, but then he gets in trouble, we go after him and he realizes he has to protect us somehow and would rather give himself up to those Death Eaters to save us. How is that smart?’

‘If you keep reminding him of his mistakes you are going to break his confidence,' Jimin said. 'If you have faith in him and just advice rather than imposing he might actually listen,’

‘We’ll see. Coz he's not been listening at all since a while,’ Hoseok shook his head.

‘Why are you supporting this?’ Jin asked Jimin and Jungkook.

‘I understand his frustration Jin,’ Jimin said. ‘He has to constantly hide himself. Isn’t that frustrating?’

‘We need to support him above everything else,’ Jungkook said.

‘They’re right,’ Namjoon added. ‘And it’s not like Taehyung has left us with any choice. Or do you want to fight him?’

‘He will get aggressive,’ Ash said. ‘He has to learn the hard way now. If he makes a mistake, let him,’

‘Even when the penalty could be death?’ Laura said.

‘So do we cage him up and make him resent us for the rest of his life?’ Jimin said. ‘I’ll keep an eye out for him, but… let him do it his way. He wants to know more about his powers and this situation he is in. We still don’t know for sure what Bellatrix intends to do with him,’

‘You’re basically telling us to watch someone who’s like a brother, walk into the fire and sit quiet about it,’ Hoseok said.

‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,’ said Jungkook and glanced at Laura. They couldn’t let Taehyung push himself away. The group moved out of the room but Jungkook lingered at the back with Laura.

‘Maybe we should tell him. Maybe it will… make him happy? Lift his mood?’ Jungkook said to her and she nodded. Both left to find their younger friend, figuring he must have retreated to the great lake.

‘Where is he,’ Jungkook carefully stepped between the roots of the many trees canopying the path towards the lake.

‘I think that's him,’ she pointed at a head with brown hair near the bank. Jungkook nodded and both stepped out of the bushes and walked towards Taehyung.

‘Are you planning to settle here?’ Jungkook asked and Taehyung's head snapped in his direction.

‘What are you two doing here!’ The Hufflepuff was surprised.

‘We just wanted to see you, alone,’ Jungkook said.

‘And say what?’ Taehyung pouted, expecting another lecture to follow.

‘To say that you can talk to me about anything and everything. You don't want to live in secret, let's find a solution to that,’ Jungkook said and Tae’s eyes looked at him widely.

‘You want to join the guild…?’ Laura asked.

‘What do you think?’

‘Ummm…’ Laura looked unsure. ‘It's not ideal but it's a start. Sitting here, pretending like you aren't an Elkyre is definitely not the solution. The Guild is all we have… and your father,’

‘My father…’ Taehyung looked away. ‘What good is he gonna bring,’

‘Listen Tae… I get why you hate him,’ Laura said. ‘I’d hate him too if I were you. But if you wanna live as an Elkyre, you have to compromise. Maybe… maybe the circumstances make your father look bad. Your mother loved him a long time ago, my mother was engaged to him once and they used to be really good friends… I don't think my mother would've willingly been friends with someone who did not have any redeeming qualities’

Jungkook added. ‘Maybe it will help. The truth is, we don’t have any good options, so we gotta take what’s better than the other,’

Tae thought for a moment and then nodded his head. ‘Alright… I'll try and put my emotions behind me,’

‘Good,’ Jungkook smiled. ‘And also… there's something else,’

‘What?’ Taehyung looked at him and Jungkook had a smile he had never seen before, the kind that tinged the apples of his cheek a rose color.

‘So we wanted to tell you that… um,’ now Jungkook’s neck and ears were turning red as well. ‘That uh…’ he was trying to point to Laura or gesture with his hands but Taehyung’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

‘You know… we…’ Jungkook sighed until Laura took his stumbling hands and entwined her fingers with his and looked at Taehyung with a smile. Taehyung's lips slowly pulled up seeing their hands clasped together.

‘Really?’ Taehyung asked the two and Jungkook slightly nodded before hiding his face behind his palm.

‘When!!’ Taehyung asked, the box grin back on his face after a long time.

‘About.. 3 days back,’ Laura said.

‘How?? You have to tell me everything! Who told first? How did it happen?!’

‘Well… it was kind of a blur. I remember we were fighting a lot before that,’ Laura said.

Taehyung rolled his eyes, ‘Of course you fought,’

‘Coz she got jealous,’ Jungkook teasingly nudged her.

‘I did not get jealous,’ Laura said haughtily.

‘Then why’d you come at me yelling about the promposals!’ he teased.

‘At least now your fights are cute,’ Taehyung said. ‘I can totally imagine Laura getting jealous,’

‘Yeah,’ Jungkook grinned. ‘Isn’t she cute?’

‘Stop calling me cute,’ Laura said in a small, embarrassed voice and Jungkook tickled her, until she swatted her hands away.

‘And then what happened?’

‘So we were dancing… and we…’

‘You what?’

‘We…’

‘Blurted out your feelings?’

‘Well’ Laura thought, ‘There weren’t many words involved,’

‘There weren’t any words involved,’ Jungkook muttered but Taehyung heard it and his happiness couldn’t be contained.

‘That means you kissed???’ he shouted in joy and both slightly jumped at his excitement. They slowly nodded, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. ‘Oh my god Jungkook you had your first kiss! Why didn’t you tell me sooner! I can’t believe it’s finally happened! It really happened!’

‘What do you mean it’s  _finally_  happened?’ Laura asked.

‘You both didn’t realize it?’ Taehyung asked and got blank faces in response. ‘Well, you both were being very obvious,’

‘Obvious with what?’

‘Obvious about liking each other! We all knew. We were expecting this to happen anytime but you guys really took so long,’

‘Well we wanted you to be the first one to know, from us,’ Laura said.

‘Honestly,’ Jungkook continued, ‘You made this possible Tae. If Laura and I didn’t have you as our common friend… I wonder if this is where we would be right now,’

‘Now you are making me blush,’ Taehyung opened his arms and lunged on them, hugging both of them tightly.

*

‘How many people enrolled for the show?’ Flitwick asked Jimin as he adjusted his oval spectacles.

‘7 so far,’ Jimin replied, re-checking the list in his hand. They were seated in the Charms classroom after class hours.

‘Oh!’ Margaret, the 5th year Gryffindor prefect pulled out a piece of rolled parchment. ‘Here are some more names I got today morning. I forgot to give them to you. There are 3 more,’

‘Gryffindors?’ Jimin asked, unrolling the parchment and reading the names.

‘Yeah. I had put up a list for people to write their names and category of performance in the common room,’

‘Jin is singing?’ Jimin couldn’t believe it as he read the name at the bottom of the list, written hastily but surely in Jin’s writing and a smile broke out on his lips. ‘Hah! Can’t wait for it,’

‘We have less than two weeks remaining for the event,’ Flitwick said. ‘Is the stage preparation on track? And what about the opening act?’

‘The stage is a little behind schedule,’ Jimin said. ‘But I’ll make them pick up speed. The opening act is…’ Jimin scratched his head. ‘I have to go get an update from them but considering its Jungkook and Laura under Hoseok’s guidance, I am not too worried. All of them like to be perfect,’

‘Ok then that winds up our meeting,’ Flitwick flicked his wand to rollup the parchment he was writing the minutes on.

Jimin walked out, heading towards the Great Hall when Vanessa popped in. ‘Jimin, someone wants to talk to you,’

‘Someone who?’ Jimin asked seeing the smile on Vanessa’s face.

‘Just go!’ She pushed him into a side corridor where a nervous Ravenclaw girl stood.

‘Maria?’ Jimin tried to look at her face. But she had half hidden it behind a fisted hand which was on her mouth.

‘Oh hi,’ she squeaked. ‘Hi Jimin,’

‘What’s up?’ he remembered her. She was Taehyung’s classmate and had helped Ash in tracking down Jessica’s group.

‘Well,’ Maria looked up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. ‘I actually… I wanted to ask you for the ball but it's ok if you think it's weird. You’re dating Ash and-’

‘Maria, its fine,’ Jimin smiled. ‘Everyone is going as friends. You can dance with friends right?’

‘Yeah. Yeah totally! That's what I had in mind as well. But some folks are not understanding that. That's why it took me so long to approach you. Am I talking too much? Sorry. So back to the question. Yeah. Would you like to go to the ball with me? It's ok if you don't want to-’

‘I would love to,’ Jimin said, flashing his charming smile which would make any heart melt. ‘Don’t worry so much!’

Maria smiled, then laughed a little nervously and then shook her head to clear her thoughts.

‘Ok, great! Just FYI, my dress is blue in color and I won't be changing it. Hope your dress robes won’t clash too bad with it,’

‘Don't worry, they're greys and blacks,’ be said. ‘We’ll look good,’

‘Right,’ she gave him a thumbs up.

‘Hey!!’ Hoseok’s voice rang the loudest and they all joined them, Ash coming beside Jimin.

‘So, I’m going to the ball with Maria,’ Jimin said, gesturing to Maria who was on his other side.

‘Oh!’ Ash was surprised but smiled. ‘Great!’

‘You sure there’s no problem?’ Maria asked again.

‘I'm going with Charlie Weasley,’ Ash said. ‘People are still not getting the point of this ball. You are not marrying your Yule Ball partner are you. People need to open up and be friends,’

‘That's true,’

‘Guess I’m the only one left without a partner,’ Hoseok sighed dramatically and Yoongi pursed his lips.

‘By the way thanks a lot Maria,’ Jimin said. ‘Whatever information you gave to Ash about Jessica really got things moving,’

‘Ah, don't mention it. As a student it was the right thing to do,’ Maria said, tucking her dark hair behind her ears again. ‘See you around then!’ she waved and left.

Jimin spotted Taehyung with Jungkook and Laura crossing the passage they were in. ‘Hey! Tae!’

The three turned to look at them.

‘Where are you going?’ Yoongi asked. ‘C’mon, we’re heading to the clubroom,’

Taehyung didn’t answer for a moment, he looked at their faces and then nodded, walking towards them.

‘Hey,’ Jungkook put his head between Yoongi and Tae, ‘Does anyone know how to ball dance? Coz I don’t,’

‘Neither do I,’ Hoseok said.

‘So what are we gonna do at a ball dance when we don’t even know how to dance?’ Namjoon wondered.

‘Yoongi knows,’ Laura sniggered, earning a death stare from her brother.

‘Well so do you!’ he snapped at her.

‘I have forgotten  _all_  of it. The last time I danced was when our tutor taught us 12 years ago,’

‘You guys were taught dance?’ Jungkook asked.

‘Yeah… you weren’t?’ Laura asked.

‘No,’ everyone except the Slytherins and Jin said in unison.

‘I guess…’ Jin said. ‘It’s just a part of grooming for… non-muggle families,’

‘Rich non-muggle families you mean,’ Ash patted Jin’s chest.

‘It’s annoying to be honest,’ Jin said. ‘I never wanted to learn such formal dances,’

‘Oh you poor thing,’ Hoseok teased him and they all laughed.

‘Dancing is hard alright?’ Jin said.

‘Say that to Hoseok,’ Emina chuckled.

‘Hey, you and Yoongi should teach us ballroom dancing!’ Hoseok exclaimed.

‘No!’ Yoongi shook his head fervently, ‘Nope. Not happening!’

‘Why not!?’ Hoseok demanded.

‘Well, I don’t like dancing either!’ Yoongi said.

‘No, Yoongi,’ Jimin joined in the teasing, ‘You have to teach us!’

‘Well why don’t you teach them!’ Yoongi was exasperated. ‘Aren’t you a dancer anyways?’

‘Oh but I forgot all of the steps!’ Jimin pouted, evidently bluffing. ‘C’mon Yoongi you have to help us!’

It was evident that they were not letting this go. Yoongi was brought to the center of the room and Hoseok got the gramophone from the practice room.

Jin browsed through the albums, turning to Yoongi, ‘Are you ok with Dmitri Shostakovich?’

‘Yes, whatever,’ Yoongi nodded in a defeated way.

‘Dmitri who?’ Jungkook asked a clueless Taehyung as he sipped on a banana milk carton from their snack collection.

Jin put in the vinyl record and placed the needle on it.

‘Van,’ Yoongi held out his hand, gesturing her to come quick. She went up gracefully, taking her position, holding Yoongi’s hand.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Dmitri Shostakovich - The Second Waltz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPiCejN-Wek&ab_channel=AndreeaPetcu2) _

The music started and both started to sway. Yoongi was not really making any mistakes like he would said he would.

‘Doesn’t seem like you are out of touch with practice Yoongs,’ Laura sniggered again. ‘Wonder where you’ve been dancing,’

‘Oh yeah?’ Let’s see how you do,’ Yoongi rolled Vanessa away and pulled Laura to her feet.

The cousins awkwardly tried to sync their steps to the beat. Laura raised her eyebrows, ‘Don’t yell at me if I stomp on your-’

‘Ouww!’ Yoongi’s feet already got trampled by Laura’s toes.

‘Told ya!’ she smirked.

‘C’mon now twirl!’ Yoongi gave her a push, holding her hand making her twirl. ‘Keep twirling,’

‘Min Yoongi!!’ She tried to stop out of dizziness.

‘No you can’t stop!’

Laura elbowed him and he took a few steps back while she tried to regain her balance.

‘You two are hopeless indeed,’ Jin shook his said, standing with his arms crossed.

‘Oh really?’ Emina pushed him to the centre, ‘Let’s see your moves then!’

Jimin came forward, taking Jin’s hand, ‘C’mon dance with me,’

Both were swaying but it was nothing close to a waltz, laughing and being overdramatic. Soon everyone was on their feet, just creating a big mess with their laughter and limbs sticking in all directions as the music played on repeated. The only real learning was happening between Ash and Tae as she guided the boy on how to step forward and backward.

‘A waltz is on counts of 3,’ Ash explained. ‘Two steps forward, one step backward,’

‘2 forward, 1 backward,’ Taehyung’s feet moved.

‘Good, you are getting it,’ Ash smiled. ‘Is this your first time dancing?’

‘Like this? Taking careful steps to the beat? Yeah, first time,’ Tae said.

‘You might just be a natural!’ Ash took his arm, proceeding with vigour, ‘Now dip. Support me with your arm,’

Yoongi pushed Laura away with a fed up expression. ‘Ok I’m done dancing with you. Jungkookie! Come here let me teach you!’

*

The next day…

Jungkook adjusted his green sweatshirt to sit better on his shoulders, he turned this way and that watching himself in the mirror. Pushing a hand through his unstyled hair, he ruffled it so it fell in a careful mess over his forehead. His eyes were bright and there seemed to be a constant flush radiating through his skin as he spent longer than usual in front of his mirror. The Ravenclaw spent so long occupying the mirror Yugyeom had to throw his shoe at Jungkook’s head to get him moving faster.

‘I swear, if you touch that hair one more time, I will curse you to erupt in boils. Give it a rest, Kook! You look fine.’ Yugyeom cried exasperated holding his bag to his chest, ducking out of the room.

Jungkook chucked a rolled up sock at his roommate’s head calling after him, ‘Maybe you should brush that crow’s nest you call hair sometimes to get a decent date.’

‘WHAT?’ Yugyeom called back, already too far back to have heard.

The door to his room always got stuck, so Jungkook closed it with a little more force than ordinary and made his way downstairs, ignoring the angry bobble head yelling rude stuff at him.

Yugyeom was waiting at the foot of the stairs leading to the airy Ravenclaw common room. ‘What do you mean date?’ Yugyeom asked frowning.

Sierra waved enthusiastically from the common room entrance. Jungkook gave her an awkward smile wondering how she’ll react when she finds out about Laura. He was not looking forward to that.

‘You mean you have a date to the Yule Ball? You accepted Giselle’s promposal? You bastard!’ Yugyeom thumped Jungkook on his back and immediately withdrew his hand face in a grimace of pain. Jungkook’s back was a solid wall of muscle.

The prefect was quick to shush his friend with a wave and a wink. Brushing past him to get to the dance practice.

‘You guys don’t seem focused,’ Hoseok stood with his arms crossed in the practice room, watching the dancing couple falter for the 4th time.

‘But we’re trying our best!’ Jungkook said as they repositioned themselves to the music. The dance had paused but his hand didn’t leave Laura’s waist and Hoseok’s eyes zeroed on that.

‘No,’ Hoseok scowled at his two trainees. ‘You two forgot a few steps, and what happened to the eye contact? You two are barely able to keep that! You gotta nail it or the audience won't find this convincing alright?’

‘Okay,’ Laura nodded.

‘Ok let's take it from the twirling where you two see each other face to face for the first time,’

Laura and Jungkook took their positions and Laura extended her arm behind her which Jungkook took and twirled her back till she was in front of him. Both looked at each other for a second and then looked in the opposite direction, but this time with a smile on their faces.

‘I can't do it,’ Laura giggled softly.

‘You just have to look at me,’ Jungkook replied giggling.

‘Ok let's try again,’ Laura let out a breath and Jungkook cleared his throats and both looked at each other again. Jungkook was wide eyed, giving her a cute, goofy smile and Laura couldn't bear how adorable he looked. She laughed lightly again, pressing the top of her head on his chest. ‘Stop it!’ Came her muffled voice.

‘I'm not doing anything!’ Jungkook’s hands travelled from her sides to relax on her waist.

‘You are!’

Hoseok blinked wondering why the bickering couple had reduced to a giggling, blushing mess. Had it finally happened?

‘Ok you know what,’ Hoseok said, bringing the two back from their world as the two looked at him with smiles still painted on their faces. ‘I have some work right now anyways so I’m gonna give you 20 minutes to work on your eye to eye expressions. You both better work it out or we’ll have to switch partners,’

‘Switch partners?!’ Both were instantly alarmed and Hoseok wanted to chuckle at that but he held back.

‘Yeah. Coz I need to see the chemistry! If you can't make that work then…’

‘We’ll work on it. Give us the 20 minutes,’ Laura said instantly.

‘Alright,’ Hoseok said. ‘See you soon and I better see results,’ he turned and walked out of the room grinning.

Jungkook and Laura got to work, taking their position.

‘Ok, we can do this right?’ Jungkook said, looking into Laura’s eyes.

‘Yes we can do it!’ Laura looked at him with determination and her eyes looked away again.

‘What's the matter!’ Jungkook chuckled. ‘Keep a straight face or I’ll start laughing too,’

‘I don't know how to look at you with the whole school watching,’

‘Well if we don't manage to do this, then we’ll be looking into someone else’s eyes,’

‘Well, that is not something I would like,’

‘Laura…?’ Jungkook took her hand in his. ‘Shouldn’t we… just go public?’

Laura slightly tensed at that, breaths halting for a moment.

‘Is something wrong? Do you not want people to know? You always move away from me in public,’

Laura leaned against the gramophone table, ‘I don’t want to hide this,’ she sighed. ‘I just… don’t want the wrong people to know,’

‘And who are the wrong people?’

‘If word of this reaches my grandfather, I’ll have a lot to answer to,’

Jungkook’s face lost a bit of the light. ‘He won’t… he won’t like this?’

‘I don’t want to hurt you with this,’ Laura answered. ‘But it’s the truth. He actually won’t like anyone. I saw his reaction to that stupid Rita Skeeter article. He was furious,’

Jungkook’s eyes looked down. Everytime he felt maybe their two worlds are merging, the truth would hit him in the face, making him feel not good enough.

‘Jungkook,’ Laura tugged on his hand, pulling him closer and wrapping her arms around him. ‘Of course I don’t want this to be a secret. I just need some time, to put my old fears behind,’

He nodded silently.

‘Don’t be upset by this. I can’t imagine not having you in my life, ever since the beginning. Even when we fought all the time,’

‘Do you mean it? Truly?’

‘I’m speaking out my heart for the first time, do you really think I’m capable of lying in this state?’ she asked. ‘I won’t lie, not to you,’

Jungkook cupped her face and his thumb stroked her cheek, eyes imploring her’s before he kissed her deeply. They were so happy right now, but it felt like a brittle happiness.

The heaviness of this hadn’t left Jungkook even long after the conversation. He silently sat in the empty clubroom, reading one of his muggle graphic novels.

‘You know there’s a spell to hide that?’ Jin said, sitting next to him.

‘Spell to hide what?’ Jungkook’s doe eyes looked at him and Jin pointed to his own neck with a smirk. Jungkook went red and pulled his collar higher, knowing what he was talking about.

‘I think Jimin knows that spell. You could ask him, unless you want to show it off of course,’ Jin sniggered and Jungkook lightly kicked him, though his smile wasn’t too wide.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jin asked, immediately sensing Jungkook’s mood. The younger closed the book and put it down.

‘Will… will your family disapprove if you dated a muggle born or half blood?’

‘They will,’ was Jin’s prompt answer. ‘But… I think given the current situation, my family would prefer I pick any girl… if it means I won’t be bringing a boy home,’

‘I’m sorry,’ Jungkook said, realising Jin’s situation was much worse than his own.

‘It’s alright,’ Jin stroked the back of Jungkook’s head. ‘Are you worried about Laura’s family?’

‘She made me worry… I thought it’s not going to be a big deal. Yoongi is so public about Hoseok, why can’t it be the same for us?’

‘Because… in the end, Yoongi isn’t answerable to their grandfather. I don’t think his parents are that uptight. Charles Dracwyn can and will raise this as an issue. He and Yoongi may fight about it, but in the end, Yoongi faces no consequences to it because he’s a Min. But Laura does,’

‘How so?’

‘Her grandfather is her guardian. Think of it this way, what would happen if you did something your parents don’t approve of at all? There will be consequences. You’ll hurt them. They will take measures to stop you from doing what they think is not right,’

‘You feel all of this pressure too, don’t you? That’s why you and Namjoon...’

Jin nodded.

‘If you had to choose between your family and the one you love, who would you choose?’

‘I love my family,’ Jin said. ‘I was born into it, they raised me up, gave me what I have. Even with my father, I love, as a son should. It’s not possible to hate the people who brought you up even if you disagree with them at every stage. I love them, but I will not give away the one I love for them. Because they don’t love me for who I am,’

‘Are you sure about that?’

‘I wasn’t for the longest time… But now I am,’

Jungkook nodded, but he was still thinking.

‘You’re wondering if Laura will make the same choice?’ Jin asked him and Jungkook slowly nodded again.

‘I hope she never has to make a choice like that,’ Jin said. ‘But… you have to understand one thing about her,’

‘What is that?’

‘You are still innocent and pure hearted Jungkook, that’s the most wonderful thing about you. And I hope that stays in you forever,’ Jin said. ‘But Laura has been through some things. Things more severe than what you and I have. Both her parents were murdered… to protect Taehyung. She feels the heaviness of that everyday. She was brought up by Charles Dracwyn. His teachings influence her thoughts. She feels the loss of her parents and the Dracwyn legacy is what her mother left behind for her. She considers it her birthright and duty to take it forward. She wouldn’t want to give it up,’

Jungkook was silent. Jin put an arm around him.

‘I know it may seem superficial to you, but it’s not. It’s ok if you can’t fully understand it, but you must respect it. Don’t ever make her choose between her family and you, it’s not an easy choice to make,’

*

‘Mr. Jung Hoseok,’ Emina came to the Hufflepuff table where Hoseok was picking at his food with a pout, ‘This came for you,’

‘What is it?’ Hoseok took the card in her hand and read it.

_If you look down, everything looks small. If you look up, all you see are dots. I’m the eye to the unknown world._

‘Care to explain?’ Hoseok asked the Head Girl but she shrugged.

‘You’re a Ravenclaw! Solve this for me!’

‘That would be cheating,’ Emina said, picking a piece of the pie from Hoseok’s plate and walking off.

‘What’s that?’ Yoongi peered in curiously from the side.

‘Someone left me a riddle,’ Hoseok showed him the card.

‘ _Someone_  left  _you_  a riddle???’ Yoongi almost snatched the card from him, reading it suspiciously. ‘Why would… who’s doing this?’

‘I have to solve it to find out,’ Hoseok said, sensing Yoongi was clearly curious and afraid of missing out of the action. Someone else was showing interest in his boyfriend?

‘I can help you-’

‘That would be cheating as Emina said,’ Hoseok got up from the table. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll work it out,’

‘But…’ Yoongi watched him go with sad kitten eyes. ‘We could… solve it together?’

‘Look down and everything is small,’ Hoseok repeated the words to himself, trying to recall when things looked small. He sighed and looked up at the Great Hall ceiling and it hit him.

Hoseok was walking around the castle, trying to find a clue without knowing what direction to go in.

Hoseok came to the castle grounds and his eyes found it- the round window of the Astronomy tower. It was the tallest tower, the highest viewing point in the castle. Everything looked tiny when you looked down and above stars and planets dotted the sky. In a way in was an eye, for them to see the planets through… planets, which are an unknown world.

Hoseok smiled victoriously, ‘Gotcha!’ He stood up and ran back to the castle.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Sleeping At Last - Jupiter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeTltue3y4c&ab_channel=Michael) _

Hoseok climbed up the Astronomy tower at full speed, which made him pant hard by the time he reached the top room. The room was empty and window closed. It was totally dark. Hoseok looked around, trying to figure out what could be here. He took his wand out.

‘Lumos,’ he whispered. A faint white light illuminated the tip of his wand and it steadily grew brighter. Hoseok moved his hand around so he could study his surroundings. There was something on the wall but he couldn’t see all of it in the darkness. He opened a window to let the setting sunlight in and suddenly the wall opposite the window was illuminated in a golden painting of sun and stars. There was something written below the sun.

‘Jung Hoseok’ he read it out loud. ‘Will you… go to the Yule Ball… with… me?’

His eyes widened further. This was a promposal? Was this Yoongi? Had he really gone all the way to ask him out even though he eventually knew the answer? This was their special place after all, the astronomy tower.

As an answer to his question, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned sharply and Yoongi stood there, his face dimly illuminated by the light from his own wand. He had a jar in his hand which he opened and fireflies flew out of them, like floating stars all over the room.

‘Well?’ he asked him, lilac eyes big and doey. ‘Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?’

Hoseok was stunned for words. He just stood there like a statue, wide eyed, staring at Yoongi.

‘Hobi,’ Yoongi felt apprehensive now, seeing him frozen like that. ‘Say something,’

Hoseok closed the distance between them in 4 long and quick strides and before Yoongi could realize, his lips were on him, hands pulling his body closer. Yoongi put his arms around his neck, tiptoeing to be on level with him, legs pushing between his as they squeezed closer and closer, deepening the kiss.

‘Yes,’ Hoseok whispered between the kisses. ‘Yes… I will…’ the sweet sound of their laughter rang through the tower as they spun in circles around the room.

‘Thank you,’ he said to Yoongi. ‘This is the biggest surprise I could ever receive. It’s so beautiful. I know I was asking for it but I never thought it would be so wonderful. I can’t believe it even though I’m right here- I… I love you Yoongi,’

Yoongi looked at him in astonishment again. Hoseok’s eyes were looking at him earnestly, searching, wondering if he would reciprocate the same way to him baring his innermost and most vulnerable feelings. The light of the fireflies twinkled in their eyes.

Yoongi stood on the tips of his toes, kissing Hoseok more earnestly than ever before. Hoseok had to catch and lift him up before they toppled back. Yoongi cupped his face, the kisses incessant and then slowly pulled back, eyes sparkling like a deep pool.

‘I love you too Seokie,’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> *I'm such a helpless softie for Sope*
> 
> Moodboards for our polyjuice potion heist girls Vanessa and Emina!
> 
> [Vanessa](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1129077112512471040?s=20)   
>  [Emina](https://twitter.com/jackfruitnim/status/1129077127339360257?s=20)


	20. Snowflakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To mi amigas giving exams, HOPE YOU STUDIED BEFORE READING THIS! :P

‘Torrhen!’ the voice called to the man sitting between the tall trees in the Amazonia. He opened his hazel eyes from his meditative state and watched as the dried leaves rustled in the wind and the birds took flight, departing their shelter among the trees for they sensed something enter their habitat. It was just past sunset and everything was bathed in a blue light.

‘Don’t run this time,’ the voice said again. It was familiar, the voice, and seeing as the person it belonged to did not want to be seen, Torrhen guessed who it was.

The man stood up. His black hair was braided a lifetime ago and now lay in knots around his face. Yet, he looked more like a beautiful, strong creature of the woods over than an unkempt man. He was a big and muscular man, his arms looked like it could carry a mountain.

‘If you want me to stay Martaeus,’ Torrhen said to the wind around him. ‘Then show yourself,’

‘I don’t trust you enough for that. You’ve gone to their side,’ Martaeus’ voice echoed.

‘Well then.’ Torrhen spoke in his deep voice and moved his palm around him in a circle. The grassy ground beneath him lighted up in a golden circle and Torrhen’s feet started to disappear into the ground, body transforming into soil.

‘Wait!’ there was a gush of wind and Martaeus stood in front of Torrhen. The larger man gave him a wicked smile and then stepped out of the circle.

‘Long time no see friend,’ Torrhen said. ‘And I blame it on you,’

‘You joined them!’ Martaeus argued. ‘All my words, advice, you paid them no heed,’

‘I take my own advice Martaeus,’ Torrhen moved around the grassy clearing, feet emerging out of the earth. ‘Maybe you are wrong. Have you thought of that?’

‘You know the experiments they do. Do you want to be part of killing more humans?’

‘That was a different time, under different teachings,’ Torrhen looked at the darkening sky. ‘Things have changed a lot. Now the Guild condemns human experiments. It is seeking alternative methods and that is why I decided to join them,’

‘A different time you say, but under the same leader. You all still follow Abraxas,’ Martaeus said with pursed lips, blue eyes darkening in the twilight.

‘I believe Abraxas has had a change of heart,’ Torrhen gave a wicked smile again.

Martaeus chuckled, ‘And you really believe that,’

‘The guild has not taken any human lives in five decades,’ Torrhen said. ‘I believe it is trying to change,’

‘And why?’ Martaeus said. ‘Why this sudden conscious which was not present for centuries. It is only so that Elkyres like you and Serafin join them,’

‘We need to join together Martaeus,’ Torrhen walked towards him. ‘We are all parts of the same energy. The most supreme energy which can rule the world!’

‘The Prima Matter. I know,’ Martaeus looked away. ‘I am not on board with the Guild’s plan to create the Philosopher’s stone again. We don’t know if it will be a success… it if fails, we can die Torrhen! It will use up all our energy and power. If successful, the stone will immediately grant us back all that spent power but if failed, our life force is gone. We will drop to our deaths that instant,’

‘Maybe we won’t,’ Torrhen said. ‘Nowhere is it stated that this can kill us,’

‘I strongly deduce that it will,’ Martaeus crossed his arms. ‘Why do you want the stone anyway?’

‘We need to put an end to the Ministry. It discriminates us. It’s the most inefficient body of power I have ever known, yet the wizards of this entire continent follow it blindly, abiding by all their unfair rules. The ministry was incapable of controlling Grindelwald as well as Voldemort. Give it another decade and another dark wizard will emerge. And the things I’ve heard… it will happen sooner than we know,’

‘What have you heard?’

‘You are probably aware of the dark witch named Bellatrix Lestrange,’ Torrhen said.

Martaeus nodded, ‘She was Voldemort’s right hand. The most dangerous Death Eater,’

‘She was and remains a sadistic maniac. And you should know that such a mind never sits still. I heard she’s gathering an army to continue her master’s work. She believes she is incharge of making sure Voldemort’s work lives on,’

‘Are you sure about this?’

‘I am. She is gathering a large strength. They will try to overthrow the ministry and then control us for their bidding. I am no one’s slave. My power is my own,’

‘Your leader has not considered joining them to overthrow Cornelius Fudge?’

‘Like I said,’ Torrhen smiled. ‘The Guild has changed its principles. Maybe you should pay us a visit and see for yourself,’

‘I don’t need to see anything,’ Martaeus said.

‘Martaeus, I know you want this power too. Imagine, nothing in the world could stop you then, from anything. You wouldn’t have to hide, from the Ministry, from your family. We want to restore balance in this world. And for that, we need you too. We need you to complete the Prima Matter. You, me, Serafin and your s-,’

But Martaeus didn’t want to listen to it anymore. He shook his head, walking away.

‘Martaeus, hear one thing out,’ Torrhen said. ‘You are either with us, your own people and wield this immeasurable power. Or you will be hunted by the Ministry and the Death Eaters relentlessly and we won’t be coming to save you then. One wants to wipe you out, one wants to make you their slave. If not for yourself, think of what side your son should be on,’

*

‘She pushed you three fucking floors down?’ Jimin was aghast. He couldn’t believe his girlfriend who stood in front of him, leaning against his desk, looked so unbothered by whatever had happened some days ago.

‘But we caught them,’ Ash said, studying Jimin’s worried gaze from where he sat on the edge of his bed. ‘Didn’t you hear Dumbledore at breakfast? They’ll most likely be expelled. We can breathe easy now Jimin. It was worth it. Can’t you see how much better the atmosphere is at school? No one is accusing you of being anything now. No more nasty name calling,’

Jimin walked over to her, trying to search something in her eyes and Ash looked at him quizzically.

‘How…’ Jimin whispered. ‘How do you bear so much? For me…’

Ash caught the front of his shirt, fingers playing with the buttons and she shrugged, speaking quietly, ‘I care for you so I’m gonna do whatever I can for you,’

Jimin held her waist and pulled her in, locking his arms around her back the same time his lips pressed on to hers. He had waited a while to get back to this, to hold her and kiss her, the one who had selflessly done everything she could to keep  _him_  safe. Since the first year, he knew Ash was nice but he couldn’t fathom that her heart was one of gold, and couldn’t fathom why  _he_  deserved her.

But Ash was quick to halt his deep thoughts with her actions, her hands were tugging on his clothes, eager to take them off. They stumbled towards the bed and lay in a tangle, arms and legs wrapped around each other, almost wrestling on the bed, pieces of clothing coming off one by one. The room was filled with wet noises of their mouths and the sighs that escaped.

Jimin turned over and pushed Ash down on the mattress. Her nails raked his bare back and chest. His skin was so soft and smooth to touch, muscles rippling with every movement of his body.

He undid her shirt hastily, pulling the seams apart and nibbling on her breasts that spilled out. His eyes were hooded and dazed like he was intoxicated by the way she looked right now, her chest heaving as she breathed, pink marks from his mouth scattered over it. He cupped her breasts and his thumbs rubbed over her nipples rhythmically and then his mouth was on it, lips pulling and tongue stroking each of them like he was hungry and desperate for more. Ash arched her back, hands knotting in his hair, burying him into her chest, into the crook of her neck, whenever Jimin’s mouth wanted to be. She pushed her hands beneath the hem of his shorts, grabbed his naked ass, giving it a good squeeze before slowly kneading them to the rhythm of his mouth opening and closing on hers. Jimin’s hips started to move on their own, grinding between her legs.

‘Jimin are you in there?’ came a knock from Ash’s roommate.

Ash and Jimin tumbled down the bed with a thud in their effort to get off each other quickly. They heard the knock again and Jimin opened the door a peep.

‘Hey Laura,’ he cleared his throat, voice raspy from all the moans he had been making a few minutes ago.

‘Hey Jimin, your brother is gonna be here in the evening,’

‘My brother?!’ Jimin’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting him to visit.

Laura nodded, ‘Yup, Dumbledore told me to tell you. So be in the Great Hall by 5PM,’

‘I will,’ Jimin nodded.

‘And tell Ash McGonagall is looking for her. Something related to Jessica Simpson’s expulsion,’ she said and left.

Ash crawled out from the other side of the bed bed. ‘She couldn’t have picked another time to interrupt?’

Jimin didn't answer. He probably wasn't even listening. He was busy looking at how Ash looked right now, in just her underwear and an open shirt. His hooded, dark eyes were on her exposed neck, slowly going down her legs and then back up on her breasts.

‘And I have to go to MgGonagall right now?’ she rolled her eyes.

‘Relax,’ he said, collecting her shoes which lay in opposite sides of the room. ‘We will have all the time in the world,’ he walked to her and kneeled, holding her shoe open for her. ‘Here,’

Ash held his shoulder and pushed her feet in. Jimin tied the lace while she buttoned her shirt. His hands caressed her calf lightly. Ash looked down at him, there was something in the way he looked kneeling in front of her, face turned up towards her, eyes still hungry. He softly kissed her thigh right above her knee, nose pushing her skirt up a little. After he made her wear the other shoe, he stood up and smoothed her hair while she buttoned her skirt. ‘There, go quickly now,’

*

‘Aah,’ Namjoon’s voice was almost a moan. ‘Slower,’

‘Right here?’ Jin asked him.

‘Hmmm,’ Namjoon closed his eyes, feeling Jin’s fingers work on his back.

‘Your shirt fabric will rub on your skin and give you a burn,’ Jin said. ‘I can't massage it properly then,’

‘Should I take it off?’ Namjoon asked nervously.

‘Yeah,’ Jin’s answer was surprisingly affirmative, making Namjoon’s stomach do a flip and he complied, taking the piece of clothing over his head and off him.

‘Sit comfortably now,’ Jin said, his legs coming on either side of Namjoon's body as both sat on the younger’s bed. Namjoon felt heat tingle where Jin’s hands touched his bare skin, a ghost sensation leaving its trail everywhere even after the contact broke.

Jin was having a hard time keeping his hands on him just for a massage. Namjoon’s occasional sighs while being shirtless in such proximity was sending his mind in all directions. He wanted to plant kisses along the younger’s shoulders, move his hands to the front to caress his chest, feel him pressing his body on him, and wrap his legs around Namjoon’s. He wanted to cocoon him, turn his head back and kiss him, so that for a few moments, only they existed and none of the exterior world. Blinking, trying to get his thoughts back to reality, he brought his hands to the sides, massaging his arms as well, eliciting another light moan of relief from Namjoon.

‘You’ve been staying up late again?’ Jin asked, now pushing and kneading his thumbs into Namjoon’s upper back.

‘Well… there are so many assignments,’

‘You took too many subjects for NEWTS. I was worried you will stop taking care of yourself. Did you have a proper breakfast?’

‘Kinda,’

‘What is  _kinda_? You need to eat well! Tall guy like you! At least 20 pancakes!’

‘20 pancakes! I'm not a gian- ah!’

Jin’s tone changed instantly to one of concern, ‘Sorry did I hurt you?’

‘No, it was just a passing current. Keep going,’

Jin then silently massaged Namjoon’s neck and shoulders, listening to the younger’s deep breaths. Poor boy had been bent over his desk and writing all night. His body was beautiful, Jin could now observe closely. Strong, muscular arms, broad back. His musk was enticing. He watched Namjoon’s head slowly lull and then jerk back up. He was falling asleep.

‘Are you sleepy?’

‘Hmmm,’ Namjoon replied, half awake.

‘Come here,’ Jin closed his legs around him slightly and leaned back on the bed’s head rest. He wrapped his arms around Namjoon’s torso and made him lean.

‘Jin-’

‘Shhh, just sleep,’ he spoke near Namjoon's ears.

‘Sing for me?’

‘What should I sing?’ Jin hadn't sung in years.

‘Hum that lullaby,’ Namjoon’s body grew heavier and he rested his head on Jin’s shoulder.

Jin started a low hum, a soothing vibration through his chest and soon Namjoon was lightly snoring on Jin’s chest. The older stroked his hair, his arms, putting him into a comfortable slumber.

Namjoon woke up around 2 PM, to find his body draped over Jin’s. Jin was awake, lazily stroking Namjoon’s hair with a content face. Namjoon hoisted himself up, face reddening at the proximity of their bodies… and he was shirtless? Then he remembered what led to this. Jin moved to face him but Namjoon’s expression confused him.

‘I- I’m sorry I just fell asleep-’ Namjoon started to move away.

‘Why are you sorry for that?’ Jin asked, not moving the hand that was draped around Namjoon’s back.

‘It… its mustn't be comfortable for you right, I slept off with all my weight-’

‘It was quiet comfortable. I had a very good nap,’

Namjoon looked at Jin, lying on the bed like a sinful work of art. His one arm was lazily thrown above his head and the other was around Namjoon. His chest moved slowly as he breathed, the thin fabric of his shirt outlining the shapes within.

Namjoon stopped moving and lowered himself on his elbow.

‘Why are you worried?’ Jin asked as both lay facing each other.

‘I don't know… I just…’ he gulped. What was he to even say? That he doesn't want Jin to know his true feelings and push him away?

‘Is your back better?’

‘Yeah. The pain is less now,’

‘Now can you put me to sleep? I like it when you stroke my hair,’

‘Sure,’ Namjoon brought his hand up to Jin’s face who closed his eyes and his breaths got deeper.

Namjoon wondered as he gazed on Jin’s ethereal face… maybe he should tell Jin about how he feels. How many friends shared the kind of intimacy that they did? He tried to recall if such moments existed between him and his other close friends. Plenty of times Hoseok had dozed off on his shoulder, Taehyung and Jungkook had slept on his lap. But that was nothing like how Jin was in front of him right now. Could it be that Jin felt the same way too? And that's why he is maintaining this level of intimacy? He didn't want it to be just in his head.

Jin’s body moved and he draped at arm over Namjoon’s torso. Looks like they would sleeping together yet again. These moments had become too frequent to be just a platonic relationship. Immersed in the heat of Jin’s body and his soothing scent, Namjoon decided that he will be braver. Jin was right, they didn't know when what could happen. He didn't want to regret not doing all the things he wanted to with Jin.

*

‘Hey,’ Jungkook’s voice in her ear startled Laura. He was the at Slytherin table for dinner, giving her a wide smile and she smiled back at him, yearning to hold his hand. Meanwhile Yoongi and Hoseok were being the annoyingly mushy couple in love right beside them. Yoongi was giggling like he had never done before and Hoseok was making a heart shape out of the churros, puckering his lips and making his usual cute sounds.

It made Laura and Jungkook jealous and Laura could see Jungkook yearning for it in his eyes. He casually brought his hand up to hook his finger around her thumb but they were interrupted by a familiar, unwelcomed voice.

‘Is Jungkook here?’ They heard the female Ravenclaw prefect at the end of the Slytherin table.

Jungkook looked up, Laura rolled her eyes with a frown while he walked to the front.

‘Hey Sierra, what’s up?’

Sierra looked from him to Laura and her eyes narrowed.

‘Flitwick has some instructions for the Ravenclaws regarding the Yule Ball. I made you a copy of it. We have to tell our house about it tonight,’ she handed him a piece of paper.

Jin and Namjoon entered that moment and seeing Yoongi and Hoseok wave at them, they went to the Slytherins. Jin was amused at the glare Laura was giving Sierra, jealousy clearly written on her face.

‘You should go public if you want Gibson to stop,’ Jin said to her.

‘You should know better than me that it's complicated,’ Laura said. ‘For us,’ she paused when Jin’s serious expression matched hers. ‘It's not easy for us is it? To face the consequences,’

‘Well, then get braver. For your own good,’ Jin said.

‘What about you?’ Laura asked. ‘Have you been able to be brave?’

‘More than yesterday,’

‘Hey Jungkook!’ Laura watched a few Ravenclaw boys waved at him. She knew them, they were all in year 6.

‘Why did you say no to Kimberley’s promposal!’ The boy was crying out. ‘Mate you’ve had a crush on her since years!’

‘I’ve not had a crush on her,’ Jungkook chuckled nervously, eyes darting with a little guilt towards Laura.

‘Are you really gonna let this go? You’ve always found her pretty,’ the other said.

‘I’m just… not going with anybody,’ Laura heard Jungkook say.

‘Why the hell not? You’re being fishy,’

‘Listen Ethan,’ Jungkook seemed exasperated. ‘I will be busy during the opening ceremony. I have a dance to perform if you haven't forgotten,’

‘Oh, yeah yeah. With Dracwyn right?’

‘Yeah with her,’

‘Well, I'm telling you this coz Kimberly asked us again if you are going with anyone. So she’s still open,’

‘You and Kimberly will look good together,’ the other guy added. ‘I don't know why you’re holding back,’

‘Are you really not dating Sierra?’

Jungkook gave out a fed up sigh.

‘Guys why do you think I'm lying when I say I'm not dating Sierra,’ Jungkook said.

‘Ok,’ his friend nodded. ‘So you and Dracwyn seem to be on good terms now,’

‘Mmhm,’ Jungkook pursed his lips.

‘Is she going with anyone? You think there's a chance she’ll go with me? Her friend Ash Vorhart is going with Charlie Weasley. So do you think she’ll say yes if I ask her?’

Jungkook’s stance suddenly changed. His eyes brows narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest, ‘Why do you suddenly want to ask her?’

‘Well, Kimberly already said no to me. I can't go with any Ravenclaw friend. So yeah, since you’re friends with her now, maybe you could ask her for me, be my wingman and find out-’

‘No,’ Jungkook’s tone was absolute. The boy rarely ever got so serious and his friends were clearly taken aback.

‘Why are you getting so defensive?’

‘I'm not. I'm just… I know she won't say yes ok?’ but his anger was showing through his words. ‘So save yourself the trouble,’

‘I didn't mean to upset you mate, if you don't wanna ask her for me, it's fine-

‘Sorry Ethan, I can’t go with you,’ Laura was by Jungkook’s side. ‘I’m already going with Jungkook,’

The three Ravenclaws including Jungkook just stared at her.

‘Why do you all looked so shocked?’ Laura feigned surprise, moving closer to Jungkook.

‘But Jeon, you said-’

‘Well, now I’m going with her, Jungkook beamed, an arm going around her. ‘You heard her,’ his heart finally felt some relief. They didn’t have to hide any longer. Laura chose him over her fears.

‘Hey Jin,’ Namjoon asked. His food was untouched in front of him since his stomach had been too fluttery since they both woke up for dinner.

‘Hmm?’ Jin put a spoonful of spaghetti in his mouth.

‘I uh…. you… you wanna go to the Three Broomsticks tomorrow? It's a Yuletide Special Night. There's a Christmas themed buffet and there will be live music,’

Jin looked at him, his chewing slowing down until it completely stopped, ‘Oh… Sure!’ He swallowed the food. ‘Are the others coming… or just us?’

‘Just us,’ Namjoon said, eyes on the fork poking at his fruit lightly. ‘If you want to,’

‘Yeah, sure!’ Jin said and Namjoon could feel his smile from the tone of his words. He smiled to himself and stuffed his food in before he looked silly.

*

Taehyung caught he letter which was almost dropped in his soup by their family owl.

‘Tanny, you’re getting too old for this,’ he looked at his grey owl who was perched on top of his big Care for Magical Creatures textbook. He stroked the owl’s neck and the owl blinked its big yellow eyes at him. ‘I should tell mom to retire you now. You can go spend time in the woods. Mom will feed you if you can't hunt,’

The owl crooked once then flew away. Taehyung tore open the letter to read his mother’s hasty handwriting.

_Dear Tae,_

_How is school going? Are you facing any trouble? We really really miss you back here. Everyday we think of you and wish you were here with us for dinner._

_If you are facing any trouble at school, I hope you know you can always count on your friends. I'm glad I met them, even if it was during the trial. Seeing them, I feel assured that there are people to care for you in my absence._

_TaeTae, as much as I and dad want, but I think it's better you stay at Hogwarts for this Christmas. Dumbledore is staying at school too, and nothing would assure me more than his undivided protection on you. We really miss you so much. Dumbledore has kindly said yes to our request that we can come spend the Christmas Day with you at Hogwarts. I hope you like the present that dad and I have picked for you._

_Sending loads of love from both me and dad._

_Mom._

Taehyung was actually looking forward to being away from all the ‘care and protection’ of various people for just a few days. He thought the Christmas break would give him that but now he had to stay here at school. He saw Professor Sprout come to the front of the table and take names of the students staying over for the holidays. Reluctantly he stood up and gave his name.

‘Not going?’ Bogum looked up at him, a piece of bacon between his teeth.

‘No,’ Taehyung shook his head. ‘My parents are going to visit my dad’s family. Mom could not get any other holiday from the Ministry. So I’m staying here,’

‘Why don't you come over to my house?’

‘Thanks Bogum. But my parents have some plan. They’re saying they’ll try to drop by on Christmas Day. Mom wants to see Hogwarts again for nostalgia’s sake,’ Taehyung shrugged, taking his seat again.

2 tables away-

‘And I will be staying too,’ Jimin said, standing in front of Snape who was scribbling names on a parchment. His nose looked longer when his head was bent at this angle. Snape looked up to see who the student was.

‘Smart… decision…’ he said writing Park Jimin on the paper. ‘Anyone else?’ He looked at the table but there was no one. Slytherins rarely stayed at Hogwarts for christmas.

‘Oh!’ Laura looked up. ‘Taemin has come?’

Jungkook’s whole posture turned to alert and it was so obvious that Ash tried to hide her chuckles behind her hand.

‘We all should meet him too,’ Ash said loudly. ‘Coming Jungkook?’

‘Yeah… yeah sure,’ Jungkook nodded, smoothening his shirt.

They entered through the great doors. Taemin stood in his usual regal-like clothing, this time sleek black trousers and an emerald green long coat of rich wool. The lapels had his silver badge of Auror pinned on it. He stood with poise, greeting them with a kind smile.

Yoongi smiled slightly and nodded at him in acknowledgment and Vanessa waved her hand. Jimin hugged him with a big smile and Taemin patted him on the back. He shook hands with Ash, giving her a charming smile, clearly showing that he adores her like he adores Jimin.

‘Oh! Your training is complete!’ Laura said, seeing the badge. ‘Congratulations,’

‘Thank you,’ Taemin shook her hand with a small bow. ‘How are you?’

Jungkook was eyeing the handshake which hadn’t broken yet.

‘I’m good. The stress of 6th year is getting on my nerves,’

‘Wait till you start your specialised training after school,’ Taemin winked.

‘So,’ Jungkook cleared his throat, coming to the front, ‘How’s work?’

‘Work is good,’ Taemin said, finally breaking the handshake nonchalantly and smiling at Jungkook. ‘Finally have an office to work in,’

‘Why the sudden visit?’ Jimin asked.

‘Can we talk somewhere?’ Taemin said and Jimin realized this was serious. He took Taemin to their clubroom and shut the door. Taemin put the muting charm around them and they sat on the sofa and armchair across each other.

‘Tell me then,’ Jimin rested his elbows on his knees, posture leaning forward. His grey eyes looked at his brother’s which were the same shade.

‘Dumbledore spoke to me,’ Taemin said. ‘He told me everything,’

Jimin’s eyebrows contracted and he straightened his back. He did not expect Dumbledore to contact Jimin’s family so soon… without even telling him about it.

‘What is everything?’ Jimin asked and Taemin took a while to answer. It looked like Taemin had difficulty speaking it out loud, the cruel reality was something Taemin did not want to accept, to see his younger brother being inflicted with this grave complication.

‘He told me… about your Lycan infection,’ Taemin finally said.

Jimin breathed out, crossing his arms over his body, ‘And?’

‘He told me how it happened, how it affects you… and about the death eater werewolves’ attack,’

Jimin gulped. ‘You are an Auror now. What do you feel about this?’

‘Before an Auror I am your brother!’ Taemin’s eyes were wide, showing shock and hurt. ‘Do you really think I will tell the Ministry?’

‘Don’t you feel conflicted? If this gets out, you’ll be under investigation. And I know you are a terrible liar,’

Taemin’s posture changed. He sat back, eyes on his younger brother, ‘That’s not what you said when the Ministry came to interrogate our family,’

Jimin blinked and looked away, remembering how every pure blood Slytherin family was subjected to interrogation after the Dark Lord’s disappearance. His family wasn’t involved, but that didn’t mean they weren’t approached by the Death Eaters to come join them. That was one of the biggest reasons Taemin became Auror and Jimin decided to break the false notions of Slytherins. There was power in the hands of selfish or judgemental people. Fudge was in a desperate position to please all wizarding families, while the Death Eaters were desperate to get a short sentence by outing names, and they would name any person that came to their mind. Many Slytherin families were under the radar. And people like Lucius Malfoy, who held a high status in the Ministry refused to come to anyone’s aid, scared of losing their own position for they themselves stood on thin ice.

‘There was not much to lie,’ Jimin said.

‘I’ve not come here to argue about my lying skills,’ Taemin said. ‘I’ve come here to tell you that… don’t ever think I’m not with you,’

‘Do mom and dad know?’

‘Not yet. I haven’t told them anything and told Dumbledore not to as well,’

‘Good,’ Jimin nodded. ‘I want to tell them myself. I’ll tell them when I come home during end of term,’

‘You aren’t coming for christmas?’

Jimin shook his head. ‘Christmas is near a full moon. I need to stay here with Snape and Dumbledore,’

‘What if the Death Eaters come again?’

‘I have Dumbledore, right here with me!’

‘Will he be able to fight 5… 10 werewolves? What if Bellatrix and her minions come too?’

‘I doubt they will invest so much manpower to come and get just a half werewolf boy,’

Taemin looked at him with narrowed eyes. ‘They’ve invaded twice now. Is there something I’m missing?’

‘What?’ Jimin looked at him in surprise, ‘No! You know everything,’

‘And you call me the bad liar,’ Taemin raised his eyebrows. ‘Is this in any way related to the attack that happened in October?’

‘No Taemin,’ Jimin said. ‘This was only the werewolves. They want me because I have Skoll’s venom. People infected directly by him are rare,’

‘Alright,’ Taemin said in a way which told Jimin that he didn’t believe him. ‘Well this means they will definitely try again,’

‘And Hogwarts is the safest place on earth,’ Jimin said.

‘I don’t think so,’

‘The security had relaxed post the the end of the wizarding war. Now it’s back up and strong. You don’t have to worry about me here Taemin,’

‘Not like we have a choice,’ Taemin said. ‘I’ll come visit you in the holidays,’

‘Come after the full moon passes. I don’t want you to see me before that,’

‘And why not? You think I will love you less? Hope you remember I’ve held you since the day you were born, seen all your ugly crying,’

‘That is why I don’t want you to see me in that state,’ Jimin said. ‘Please understand, I don’t want anyone to see me like that,’

‘Your girlfriend… she’s been taking good care of you,’

‘Yeah,’ Jimin said, a fond smile coming on his lips. ‘She’s been with me every step. And so have the others. NamJin, Hobi, Em, Tae-,’

‘The Min-Dracwyns?’

Jimin nodded.

‘Good… I’m glad you have real friends in the house. We always need people who can help us and we can count on,’

‘You’re making it sound selfish,’

‘I’m making it sound practical. Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same way. I’m not saying we should discard people who can’t do anything for us. But… you are still in school now. I’m witnessing the heavy politics going in the Ministry everyday and I in a way support Dumbledore’s decision of not involving Aurors here. Fudge cannot even get a hint of this, that Dumbledore feels he  _needs_  exterior help. Trust me, you need people on your side Jimin,’

‘Ok Ser Auror. I still have two years of school, let me live like a kid till then,’ Jimin laughed but his laughter slowly died, replacing the curve of his eyes with slight tears. He had two years of school, but no more years of being a kid. He was a Lycan time bomb waiting to explode.

‘You don’t have to think your life is over,’ Taemin said, like he could read his brother’s mind. ‘I will find a way to make this right,’

_The Philosopher’s Stone…_

Taehyung’s voice suddenly rang in his mind. The stone they read about in the book. The stone that could make anything possible... no, he couldn’t be that selfish.

‘Anyways, now that we’ve spoken enough about the dreadful things,’ Jimin rubbed his hands together. ‘How are you,’

Taemin took a while to reply, ‘I…’ he smiled a little, eyes looking away, ‘I actually have some news for you,’

‘You’re blushing like a cherry,’ Jimin smiled and rolled his eyes. ‘I think I already know what the news is,’

‘Well-’

‘Who asked who first? I bet it was Jongin,’ Jimin asked.

‘How did you know-’

‘Oh please, you two have been in love with each other since third year,’

‘Well it wasn’t that obvious,’

Jimin pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.

‘Ok, just come now, we’ll meet him. And shut your mouth, don’t make me look silly in front of him,’

‘When did this happen? Mum and dad know right?’

‘Yeah they know. They’ve been incessantly inviting him for dinner. I feel he eats more in our house than his own,’

‘I’m surprised they didn’t tell me,’

‘Oh I made them promise that they don’t!’ Taemin exclaimed. ‘I wanted to tell you in person. Coz you’ve been telling me to ask him out since years,’

They came back to the Great Hall where his friends were sitting with a young man in a deep red woollen coat. They were at the Gryffindor table now. Jin sat on one side of the man, talking fondly while Hoseok on the other side and Yoongi across them. The man looked at the two brothers approaching them and smiled warmly. He had expressive eyes, that always looked a bit fiery, a sculpted face with high cheekbones and a sharp jaw. His lips were plump and rosy. His straight brown hair was tied in a short pony at the back of his head, a few strands hanging lose on the sides of his face.

‘Oh! Taemin is here,’ Jin waved to him and Yoongi made space for Taemin to sit.

‘Jongin, you haven’t changed one bit,’ Jimin said. ‘I hope mom’s feeding you well. I should write to her, tell her to feed you more,’

‘Oh god no!’ Jongin held out his palm.

‘You mean you don’t like mom’s cooking?’

‘What?’ Jongin was startled. ‘When did I say that? I love your mom’s cooking! She feeds me so much, I can’t have more than that,’

‘I think you’re lying. I’m gonna tell mom,’

‘Jimin,’ Taemin rolled his eyes. ‘Stop bullying him!’

‘Yeah you can’t bully me anymore, alright?’ Jongin held a spoon, pointing at Jimin, ‘Or  _I’ll_  tell your mom,’

Jimin held his chest in fake shock, ‘I see I’m being replaced!’

Everyone was laughing at this tease game but Jin and Namjoon were casting curious glances at each other. Were they both thinking the same thing? Because both of them felt there was more than friendship between Taemin and Jongin. The conversation went on. Jongin was glad to be back on the Gryffindor table. When he had graduated from Hogwarts, Namjoon and Jin were merely second years, but Jongin had then predicted that Namjoon will at least make prefect and he was happy to see him as the Head Boy. Taemin quietly turned to Ash who was sitting beside him.

‘Thank you,’ he said in a low voice which only she could hear. Ash blinked and narrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

‘For taking care of Jimin,’ Taemin cleared her question. ‘You really don’t know how grateful I am. I wish I could be here for him… or just somehow erase all of it. But even if I give my life, I cannot. Seeing how much you support him, you have no idea how relieved I feel,’ he placed his hand on hers.

Ash smiled, ‘We all want to protect him,’ she squeezed Taemin’s hand.

The couple left after tea and soon as they were gone, Jin turned to Jimin.

‘So,’ Jin said, brown eyes big and curious.

‘So, what?’ Jimin asked.

‘Are they together? Am I right or wrong?’

When Jimin nodded, Jin did a small victory fist bump.

‘I’m happy for them,’ Namjoon said and Jin casted him a glance again.

‘I’m glad they aren’t keeping it under wraps,’ Jimin said, adding a fake cough at the end, hoping NamJin would get the message. Everyone on the table knew NamJin meant the world to each other, one couldn’t be without the other. They were each other’s support system. But they wondered how aware NamJin were of their own feelings.

*

Next Day…

Namjoon stood in front of his mirror, adjusting the collar of his blue woollen jacket. He wanted to look good tonight. He wanted Jin to look at him and pause in appreciation for a moment. Would Jin do that? Even when he sees his own perfect face everyday?

Like an answer to his questions he saw a pair of eyes in the reflection of the mirror. Jin was behind him, at a distance, in elegant black trousers and a simple cream cardigan. He probably couldn't see Namjoon’s front face. Jin was observing Namjoon, the same content smile on his face that the younger had seen the day before, when he had slept beside him. His eyes were keenly looking at him, with interest, shoulders to ankles.

‘How do I look?’ Namjoon broke the silence, startling Jin. He saw Jin fumble for words until he managed to stutter something.

‘Good… good,’

‘You don't seem convinced,’ Namjoon said. ‘Should I change? Is the jacket not going with the pants?’

‘No! Don't change!’ Jin rushed to him. ‘Are you nuts, I mean it, it looks really good. Blue always looks good on you. Brings out your blonde hair,’

‘Alright,’ Namjoon smiled. ‘Are you ready? Shall we head out?’

‘Yup,’ Jin grabbed his burgundy jacket. ‘Lets go,’

Both stepped out of the Hogwarts gate around 6 PM. There had been snow all day and everything was covered in white. A path had been cleared for people to walk through. It was lightly snowing at the moment and NamJin walked close to each other, enjoying the fluffy cold snowflakes falling on them.

 

 

 

Madam Rosmerta had decorated the pub in a homely way. Mistletoes lined the roof on the entrance. A big wreath on the door with tiny singing snowmen welcomed them in. Fairy lights sparkled everywhere. The heat inside the pub was much welcomed by both the boys.

‘Where should we sit?’ Jin asked Namjoon who was looking around for a good spot. He didn't want something in the front and centre. He wanted a cozy spot where both could relax and be themselves. But is that what Jin wanted too? Would he rather sit in the front where he could watch the musicians.

‘We could sit in the back if you like,’ Jin said to him. ‘There are too many people in the front. I don't want to have conversations with the Hogsmeade locals and other students tonight. I just want a quiet night,’

‘I prefer that too,’ Namjoon nodded. Both chose a round table, in a nook like area. They were in the left of the back, the window behind them. Both slid into the curved sofa, sitting next to each other, watching a woman sing to jazz music on the stage, all instruments bewitched around her to play on their own.

‘May I take your order?’ they heard a squeaky voice below the table. Both peered to the side to see an old, small elf standing with a notepad. His back was hunched with age and face wrinkled more than any elf both had seen.

‘Um, can you give us a minute to decide,’ Namjoon said to the elf.

‘So,’ Jin passed Namjoon the menu. ‘What would you like?’

‘How about the bacon tinsel canapes?’ Namjoon read out. ‘And yule hash browns?’

‘Yeah they have good hash browns here,’ Jin said. ‘And… I’ll take the Boulevardier,’ he chose from the drinks section.

‘Hmmm,’ Namjoon scanned the list.

‘Why don’t you try the Da Vinci? Whiskey goes well with Chocolate Liqueur’ Jin pointed to the name. ‘Feels christmassy,’

‘Alright,’ the other nodded. ‘We are ready to give the order,’

‘Yes,’ the elf turned to them. They recited their order and the elf wrote it all down, then clicked his fingers, as if that was a signal for the food to start preparing itself. ‘It will be ready in 15 minutes. Enjoy the music,’ he bowed, as much as his hunch would allow and then slowly left.

‘She’s decorated it so well,’ Jin looked around, the golden lights sparkled in his dark brown eyes. Namjoon thought Jin looked golden in this warm light, his flawless skin looked so beautiful and Namjoon wanted to caress him with his fingers. ‘How did you think of coming here?’

‘I don’t know,’ Namjoon shrugged. ‘I heard two sixth years talk about it… and… wanted to check it out. I thought you would like it too,’

‘I like it,’ Jin smiled. ‘Quite a lot,’ He glanced at Namjoon. There was a puff of smoke and their drinks appeared in front of them. ‘Ah! Here they are!’ Both took their drinks, clinking the glasses lightly.

‘To more nights like this,’ Jin said, surprising Namjoon but he composed his face and smiled as well.

‘To more nights like this,’

Both sipped on the drink, relaxed in each other’s company while enjoying the music. They settled back on the sofa, arms pressing on each other’s. Both didn’t know how much they needed this getaway from their usual activities until they were actually here, experiencing each other’s company in a way they hadn’t before.

‘She sings well,’ Jin said eyes on the performer in front.

‘And what about you? I saw you write your name on the list before giving it to Margaret,’

‘Well… remember when you asked me to hum you to sleep nowadays? Something like a melody came out of me after I don’t know how many years. I had forgotten how much I liked… to sing. So I want to start again,’

‘That’s great Jin,’

‘I don’t care about winning the competition. I just want to have an opportunity to sing again,’

‘I know you sing well,’ Namjoon kept his hand on Jin’s knee. ‘Win or lose, the people will love you,’

‘I just have to make sure my gorgeous face doesn’t overshadow my voice,’ Jin looked up as if striking a haute pose.

Namjoon chuckled and Jin laughed with him softly. The food appeared in front of them and both instantly grabbed one of each appetiser.

‘You’ll need a partner though,’ Namjoon said. ‘From another house,’

‘I'm thinking of asking Jungkook. That boy has talent, he's too shy to show it,’

‘Will he have time between prefect, captain duties and dance practice?’

‘Hmmm,’ Jin thought, putting his chin on his palm. ‘I’ll ask him?’

‘Ask Taehyung,’ Namjoon suggested. ‘He has a deeper voice. It should complement yours,’

‘Boy is 3 years younger than me but already sounds 3 years older,’ Jin said. ‘I don't know if he wants to be around me anymore,’

‘Worth asking,’ Namjoon said. ‘Don’t push him away even if it feels like he’s pushing us. You know he needs us,’

Jin nodded in agreement.

‘Have the last bite,’ Jin held the last canapé for Namjoon who took the bite from Jin’s hand and smiled. Jin grinned adoringly and both settled back into their seats. They were loving this quiet time, in the warm, cozy pub with golden candlelight while fluffy snow fell outside the window. They didn't need to constantly speak. The silence was comfortable, music lulling them into a peaceful trance. The only tug in their hearts they felt was of how much skinship were they allowed. Both wanted to hold each other’s hand but maybe that would be too intimate. Instead, Namjoon rested his head on Jin’s shoulder while both watched the the third musician take the stage, this time a man singing carols in his baritone voice.

While they were waiting for dessert, Namjoon pulled out something from his jacket. It was a small red box. He tapped it with his wand and it expanded until it was the size of Namjoon’s forearm.

‘What’s this?’ Jin asked curiously.

‘I… I saw this… long ago. And I thought it would look good on you but, I didn't know if it was of your choice. You always like very refined things which just speak high class and this is more… it's more on my style,’

‘Do you think I find other styles off putting?’

‘No… but I just wasn't sure,’

‘Show me,’

Namjoon opened the lid. Inside was a woollen scarf, in a soft, pastel pink shade. And Namjoon was right, it was unlike any scarves that Jin owns. This scarf had bigger weaves, but felt extremely soft to touch. It reminded him of Namjoon's soft hair. The wool had a light shine to it, probably only visible against light.

‘I actually like it,’ Jin said, putting it around his neck. It was fluffy, coming up to his ears, and warm. ‘It's so soft I could sleep in it,’ Jin snuggled to it.

With a pop, their desserts arrived. Rum cakes with hot chocolate sauce. Both dived in, taking spoonfuls of it in their mouths. Within a few minutes, the entire plate was clear.

‘Hold on,’ Jin said, swallowing his last bite. Namjoon looked at him curiously and Jin brought his hand, held Namjoon’s chin and wiped some chocolate off his lower lip. A tiny piece of cherry was on the corner of his mouth too. Jin nonchalantly picked it and put it in his own mouth, then lightly licked the chocolate off his finger. Namjoon looked at him dumbfounded but Jin only laughed.

After a last round of sherry (compliments of the house by a winking Rosmerta) Namjoon and Jin stepped out once again into the chilly winter air of the night. Everyone had started decorating their shops and huts with lights and other Christmas ornaments. There were people walking back home, the smell and smoke of hot dinner everywhere. Snowflakes lightly drizzled the white capped village, the lamps and lights looking like golden orbs among the snow. Jin and Namjoon walked close to each other and Jin slowly put his arm around Namjoon’s.

‘So cold!’ He shivered lightly. ‘Thank god I have your scarf,’

Namjoon looked at Jin’s face, his nose and cheeks were pink in the cold.

‘You could be a reindeer,’ Namjoon chuckled.

‘A handsome reindeer? Yes I could be,’

Namjoon laughed, squeezing his eyes and both walked back to the castle.

The warmth of their room was a big relief. Jin immediately pointed his wand to the fireplace and it blazed to life with flames. They took off their overcoats. Jin went to the mirror and observed himself with the scarf, nodding approvingly. His face showed that he indeed liked it. Namjoon laid down on Jin’s bed next to the mirror, propping his head on his elbow to look at the elder. Both were still buzzed from all the alcohol.

‘What are you looking at?’ Jin chuckled, giving the boy a look.

‘Looking you at,’ Namjoon said. ‘Scarf looks good,’

‘It does,’ Jin walked to him and lied down next to him. ‘Thank you for planning this evening. It was perfect,’

‘It was?’

‘Mmhm,’ Jin nodded, putting the scarf on Namjoon as well. ‘I had the best time,’

‘I’m glad you did. I did too,’ the younger said, eyes slowly drifting to sleep.

They were holding each other's hands and sleeping soundly, deep breaths rising and falling in the same rhythm.

*

Everyone was running into the Hogwarts Express. Jin’s eyes darted around for his best friend who waved at him from amongst the crowd. Finally they caught up with each other. Jin caste a final look back at his family. His father was not smiling anymore. His father was looking at him and Namjoon with disappointment.

‘Move it,’ he heard the voice of someone familiar whom Jin disliked.

‘I said move Kim. Train’s about to leave,’ it was Min Yoongi. ‘Get inside or move. You are in front of the Slytherin compartment,’

Jin moved to the side. The Min-Dracwyns entered with Montague, Carrow and a few other dislikeable Slytherins.

‘Two more year,’ Namjoon tried to make him feel better. ‘Then you don't have to deal with them,’

‘You think?’ Jin raised an eyebrow while both headed into the train. ‘I will be seeing them every now and then, once I start handling father’s work. And they’ll be bothering me more than ever. I'm sure both the dragon cousins are just waiting to be a part of their grandfather’s ventures,’

They found seats with Jimin and Hoseok who were bursting with a hundred questions about OWLs to the two newly sixth year Gryffindors. Soon the rest of their friends filed in and the train moved with a loud whistle. Once it was lunch time, Taehyung went out to get something from the candy cart when he collided with Laura Dracwyn.

‘S-Sorry,’ Jin heard Taehyung’s nervous voice from over the ruckus his friends were making in the compartment in a game of cards. No one was paying them attention.

‘Be careful,’ Dracwyn’s voice was low. ‘How many times do I have to tell you?’

Her eyes looked over him, like she was accessing his state. She must have inferred that he was ok because she walked away before Taehyung could say anything more. Taehyung watched her go, face apologetic.

Jin knew what Taehyung was thinking. He was thinking when they couldn’t stop pretending that they were enemies. He hated living any kind of lie. But he had been lying and pretending to everyone, including his best friends, that he was not friends with one of their enemies.

‘Tae Tae are you ok?’ Jungkook asked when Tae still stood at the door.

‘Yeah…. I'm fine,’ but he clearly sounded dazed.

‘What happened?’ Jungkook rose to his feet, body slightly swaying in the movement of the train. ‘I saw Dracwyn right now. Did she say something to you?’ Jungkook looked like he was ready to throw hands.

‘Pipe down Jungkook,’ Emina said, throwing her last card to play. ‘Dracwyn doesn't go around troubling people,’

Jungkook huffed and rolled his eyes, ‘Yeah she has other people assigned to do it for her,’

‘You talk like she’s running a mafia,’ Emina shook her head.

‘I won't be surprised if she is,’ Hoseok said. ‘She and her brother. They’d be perfect for running a crime ring. If you don't believe me, ask Jimin,’

‘Hey!’ Jimin lightly hit Hoseok on the arm. ‘Don't twist my words! I just said Yoongi has a considerable command over our house students. And I added that it's a good thing because Yoongi doesn't like to clean up messes. So there will be less messes now,’

They were in school now, a few weeks had passed and Jin had never been so frustrated in his life. He came into his room, almost in tears. To his relief, the room was empty…. except, Namjoon.

‘What happened!’ Namjoon shot to his feet as soon as he saw Jin barge in and throw his expensive bag on the floor like it was trash.

‘Namjoon! You’re here? I thought… I thought you would be in class…’

‘I have a free period. Jin what's wrong? Why do you look so harrowed?’

‘I…’ Jin blinked furiously… ‘I… I’m failing Joon! In 3 subjects! What… what is even happening this year? Is sixth year supposed to be this hard?’

‘You are failing? Jin you got pass grades,’

‘Anything below a B does not look good on my family’s name,’ Jin said. ‘I've been getting Cs. I even got a D. It's all spiralling down and I don't know…’ Jin grabbed his head in his palms and sat down on the floor, tears finally spilling.

‘Do you know what my father expects from me in NEWTS? He wants me to enter his business with excelling grades. How am I gonna get too grades when I don't even know if I'll be able to give NEWTS!’

‘Jin,’ Namjoon sat in front of him. ‘Jin you are a bright student. I know something is bothering your mind. What is it? I thought you were gonna talk to your dad that you don't want to join his work,’

‘I did…’ Jin was sobbing now and Namjoon hugged him. ‘I told hi-m. He-he doesn't wanna hear it,’

‘Why didn't you tell me this before?’ Namjoon stroked his head.

‘I don't know… maybe coz I was hoping… I was hoping father would change his mind. I've done all that he's asked of me over all these years. I've made myself exactly the way a Kim heir should be… He thinks I’m lazy, I want the easy way out. Can he not see I work hard everyday to be the perfect son he wants me to be? This is all I asked of him. That I don’t have any interest in his office politics. I want to do something on my own. That doesn’t make me lose the Kim name does it? It’s not like we don’t have enough money that I HAVE TO work at a top post in the Ministry,’

‘Don’t give up yet,’ Namjoon hugged him tightly, seeing that Jin’s tears were spilling down again. ‘Maybe he needs some more time to understand,’

‘He says he wants me to be Minister for Magic one day… how will I ever… I can’t do it!’

‘You can do it if you want to. I’ve seen how hard you work. But, if it’s not what you want then you don’t have to do it,’

Jin’s hands where on Namjoon’s chest, trying to hold on to the sweater. His fingers rubbed on the prefect badge and he smiled sadly to himself. ‘You should’ve been his son,’ Jin said, making Namjoon go rigid. ‘You… you’re a perfect son. You’d fit so well in my family… as the heir. I’ve not met someone smarter than you. My parents would die to have a son like you. Top grades in everything, and I don’t even know how many languages you can speak,’ Jin laughed dryly. ‘I already know you are Minister material. You’d get a top post, marry a nice pure blood girl,’

‘Jin…’ Namjoon seemed speechless. ‘Jin, you are talented in ways I can’t even measure,’

‘You’d be happily marrying Vorhart if you were in my family,’ Jin laughed again. Jin was going into his shell of self-pity… which only happened when he dropped the facade of being confident and let his insecurities show. And only Namjoon had witnessed it. ‘Dream goal achieved!’

‘I don’t want to marry Vorhart,’ Namjoon said but Jin continued to tease him, like a desperate pleading to hear what he actually wanted to hear.

‘Of course you do! You keep stealing glances at her in class,’

‘That was two years ago Jin, we were 13 year old kids,’

‘C’mon I know you still like her,’

‘Jin,’ Namjoon wasn’t smiling. He held Jin by the shoulders, trying to look him in the eye.

Jin wondered why he was being this pathetic. He wanted Namjoon to tell him that Vorhart wasn’t the one, HE was the one! He was the one Namjoon liked, for all these years. He wanted Namjoon to kiss him to stop him from crying. But he couldn’t do that. And the moment Namjoon made eye contact, Jin broke down again and Namjoon hugged him tightly.

‘Jin, I’m here with you alright?’ He said, pulling Jin towards him. ‘And, I understand this pressure you feel,’

Jin sniffled, ‘How? I thought your parents are nothing like mine,’

‘Well,’ Namjoon sat against the desk so that Jin could lean on him properly. ‘They are pretty strict. They weren’t going to send me to Hogwarts you know?’

‘What?’ Jin raised his head in surprise. He had thought Namjoon’s parents were extremely loving and gave him full freedom to do whatever he wanted. Namjoon looked down at Jin’s shocked face, eyes puffy with tears, nose red.

‘Yeah… my dad was dead against it. So was my mom. He even tore the letters Dumbledore sent, saying Hogwarts was all hogwash. That it was probably a sad scam. And even after Dumbledore convinced him it was all real, he argued that this was the wrong decision for me. He feared I would amount to nothing and should instead focus on studying well and getting a high paying job for my family,’

‘But you were a good student as a muggle too right?’

‘Part of the reason my parents were against it. They thought I was doing well, why uproot me from it and make me restart my learning. I promised them that I will be the best student in the entire school… and Dumbledore seemed to have seen the potential in me, or he was just playing along. He took them aside and spoke to them and then finally my parents agreed. I think he told them about the obscurus and how inhibiting my magic could be life threatening. Of course you can’t tell that to a 11 year old being denied magic,’

‘You made it. You are the best student in the whole school. You’ll be head boy next year,’

‘We don’t know that,’ Namjoon said. ‘The Hufflepuff prefect is the top candidate,’

‘I know it,’ Jin said. ‘Then maybe you can  _finally_  impress Vorhart,’

‘Stop!!’ Namjoon sighed. ‘When will you ever stop teasing me about that?’

‘Maybe when you get married,’ Jin laughed, but inside he was beating himself up for seeking comfort this way in Namjoon again. He was supposed to be getting over his feelings for his prefect… but he didn’t seem to be making any progress.

A few more months passed. Namjoon made a point that he was always there for Jin to help him study and do his assignments, despite having enough of his own work. This amazingly selfless act was not helping Jin’s plans to be free of his feelings of Namjoon. It only made him fall harder… and eventually Jin accepted it, that he was irrevocably in love with Kim Namjoon, and will probably not love another person the same way.

Jin slowly opened his eyes. They were still wrapped under the new scarf form Namjoon. He had dreamt of the past… it was so vividly accurate that he had to look around at his surroundings for a while, making sure he wasn’t in some kind of time travel. Surely he wasn’t, because Namjoon’s beautiful form lay right next to him, not even an inch’s distance between them, compared to how it was last year, where they only allowed glances towards each other. Jin kissed Namjoon’s forehead and laid down agin. They really had come so far, considering all their obstacles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say... how soft... i've been for NamJin since 4 days!!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> We have 2 more chapters to go before part 2 wraps up! Wow.... we've actually come this far!


	21. A Starry Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :D

 

 

 

 

 

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[John William - Reunion of Friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aQEcHwRCmo&ab_channel=jediking12) _

Yoongi and Ash ran down the stairs from their dorms to the common room.

‘Where you going??’ Jimin called out. He was sitting by the fire, reading a book.

‘Hogsmeade! Emergency!’ Yoongi yelled and left. Jimin wondered if he should go with them but he had caught a break from all the Yule Ball preparations after a long time and his body refused to get up from the warmth of the chaise. He thought to let it go and settled back into his cushions.

They went up to the ground floor. The students were decorating the entire hallway in holly and tinsel. Hagrid brought in two huge fir trees and Flitwick was enchanting the candles to float overhead.

Ash wasn’t happy with the shoes she had and wanted to try her luck at Gladrags one last time, meanwhile Yoongi wanted to pick something up for Hoseok to wear to the ball. They bumped into someone at the doorway.

‘Oh there you are!’ Ash caught the person. ‘Where were you?’

‘Hogsmeade,’ Laura replied, wiping some snow off her nose. ‘Had to get my dress. I cancelled the one from Twilfitts,’

‘You waited until the morning of the Yule Ball to go get it?’ Ash looked at her disbelievingly. Laura gave her a guilty smile and shrugged.

‘Ok, I gotta go. See you in an hour,’

12PM - Practice Room.

‘Are you sure you guys have practiced enough?’ Yoongi asked, standing in front of the singing duo with his arms crossed.

‘Well, we started quite late,’ Jin said. ‘Let’s just do our best. I just want to enjoy it,’

‘Hoooo,’ a sweaty Hoseok came to them and dangled his arm around Yoongi who pushed him away.

‘Yah! Go bathe!’ He said to the Hufflepuff.

‘Are you still making the two rehearse?’ Jin asked Hoseok. ‘Save some energy for the ball!’

‘Rehearsal is over. I told both of them to rest. They fell asleep on the floor itself,’ Hoseok pointed behind him where.

‘Wake them up and send them to eat,’ Yoongi said. ‘Better they sleep in their dorms than here. Or Laura will nag me later,’ He tugged Hoseok’s hand towards the dance studio.

Laura and Jungkook were completely tuckered out, heads resting on their backpacks. Jungkook had put his blue cloak over Laura and was now curled up beside her without a cover. Yoongi wanted to chuckle at his adorable gesture. He removed his own cloak and draped it over Jungkook.

‘I thought you wanted to wake them up,’ Hoseok said.

‘Well now I don’t have the heart to,’ Yoongi gazed at them adoringly.

‘I knew you liked Jungkook. Why are you so tough on him otherwise? The boy walks on eggshells around you ever since you gave him that sinister smile and said ‘I’m older than you, remember?’

‘Am I not always like that?’ Yoongi looked at Hoseok. ‘Don’t you remember how I was with you?’ He smirked and walked off with his hands in his pockets to preserve whatever body heat he had. Hoseok blinked a couple of times and then followed Yoongi, his face a question mark.

‘Wait you mean to tell me you didn’t hate me for the past 5 years?’ Hoseok asked him and Yoongi only chuckled. ‘Min Yoongi you practically bullied me since I stepped on your toe the first time we boarded Hogwarts Express,’

‘Well you were a moron,’ Yoongi said casually. ‘And don’t be so dramatic, I didn’t bully you,’

‘You called me horseface for an entire year! And you always cheated in Quidditch against Hufflepuff!’ Hoseok started recounting the stories as they walked towards the great hall.

Yoongi chuckled to himself, remembering how he used to find Hoseok intolerable. ‘You didn’t like me much either!’

‘And who’s fault is that?’ Hoseok crossed his arms and brought on that pout which meant he wants attention. Yoongi paused, hand going into the pockets of his pants and retrieving something. He held out the small velvet box in front of Hoseok’s nose.

‘For you,’

Hoseok’s eyes widened and he carefully took the box, ‘What is it?’

‘Something for the ball. I got us matching pairs,’

Hoseok opened it and saw a short delicate necklace, a simple silver string with a gemstone in the middle.

‘Purple for you, yellow for me,’ Yoongi said, lowering his collar to how him the one he was wearing.

Hoseok beamed widely, beautiful teeth showing. ‘Put it on for me,’

*

‘Ok, I think we’ll do well,’ Jin nodded after another round of practice. ‘Let’s go grab lunch,’

‘Sure,’ Taehyung nodded.

‘Tae?’

‘Hm?’ Taehyung’s blue eyes looked at Jin.

‘Are you still mad at me?’ Jin’s eyes were sincere.

‘No… I’m not mad at you,’ Taehyung replied.

‘You are not yourself,’

‘Jin, I’m not mad at you… and I know I’m not myself but can people not constantly ask me about it? I’m trying to figure things out, I’ll be fine… eventually,’

Jin looked at him for a few moments then nodded, ‘Alright, I won’t bug you anymore,’

‘Thanks,’

‘But I hope you still trust me like how you used to,’

Tae didn’t answer. He just smiled and cocked his head to the door, gesturing to leave for lunch.

After lunch, everyone got busy with getting dressed for the event. The early birds could already be seen walking from one house room to the common area to borrow shoes and accessories.

Taehyung was on the Hufflepuff table with Bogum, Leslie and Hoseok. Alexander joined them and they were playing a game of chess. They were being loud and cheery, Alexander against the 4 Hufflepuffs and Alexander was winning.

‘Things finally don’t seem too bad?’ Vanessa said to Yoongi.

‘Finally…’ Yoongi said. Though he could feel things simmering below this calm surface. Taehyung had changed… in a good way if you wanted to see it practically… but Yoongi’s instincts told him not all was good. Taehyung was more confident, bold but there were moments he appeared a bit cold and proud, not that Yoongi was anyone who could judge another in that matter, (god knows the amount of times people have called him an obnoxious snob) but it was very unusual seeing Taehyung in that light.

They saw Ash run back in, her cheeks were flushed pink and she held around 4 bags in her hands.

‘I thought you just went to buy one necklace,’ Vanessa looked at her purchases.

‘Oh well…’ Ash said guiltily. ‘But why are you guys still here! Aren’t you going to get changed?’

‘Its only 4 PM,’ Yoongi said. ‘It doesn’t start until 7.’

‘He needs only 15 minutes to get ready,’ Vanessa waved her hand. ‘Learn something from Jimin!’ she said to him.

‘What do I learn from him? How to adjust your hair for 20 minutes while blocking the one mirror in the room?’ Yoongi said. ‘I’ll get ready once he’s out of the room,’

‘Fine, I’m leaving, bye,’ Ash dashed out.

‘Get that Laura off the bed and into the shower!’ Vanessa said. ‘She always gets late!’

And as predicted, Laura was in her pyjamas, tucked into her blanket, reading some comic book she had borrowed from Jungkook.

‘Get up!’ Ash pulled the blanket off her. ‘Go take a shower!’

‘Let me finish this chapter!’ she said. ‘I’ll get ready after that,’

‘What are you even reading?’ Ash’s eyes looked into the comic.

‘Something from Jungkook’s collection,’ Laura said with flushed cheeks. Ash let her be for now and headed for a bath herself.

5 PM

Jin and Namjoon were in their room.

‘I can’t find it! We’re getting late!’ Namjoon was plucking and ripping things off his table and bed, trying to locate the inner shirt of his dress robes, the one Jin had gifted him. Coincidentally (with some subtle planning) Jin and Namjoon were matching today, in dress robes inspired by Traditional Hanboks, in shades of blue and gold.

‘It’s a shirt!’ Jin said. ‘How can it disappear!’

‘Why does this always happen with me,’ Namjoon shook his head, giving up. He slumped on the messy bed and lay back, hands on his face. The mattress next to him sunk down with another person’s weight.

‘Don’t stress,’ Jin said, voice close to his ear. ‘I’m sure it’s somewhere in the room,’

‘But I need to find it soon! What else will I do then? Go naked?’

Jin laughed, rolling on his back too, ‘Wouldn’t be too bad,’

‘What?’ Namjoon looked at him perplexed.

‘I said it wouldn’t be too bad,’ Jin said to him. ‘Not like you don’t have a body worth showing off,’ 

Namjoon turned to the other side, a silly, adorable, dimpled smile breaking on his face which he definitely didn’t want anyone to see. But Jin could still see his red ears and his fingers stroked his earlobe.

‘Don’t get all shy now. I was telling the truth,’ Jin said. ‘I’ll help you find it,’

‘I don’t want to lose the shirt… it was your pick after all’ Namjoon said softly. He felt Jin’s body shift away from him and heard his footsteps walking towards the cupboard.

Jin rummaged through Namjoon’s clothes, removing some of them out, until he found the blue shirt lying at the very back of the shelf, ‘There you go,’ Jin sighed with a smile, gently throwing the shirt towards Namjoon. ‘It needs to be ironed,’

‘I’ll do that,’ Namjoon took his wand, running over the fabric and flattening all the creases. He pulled his T-shirt over his head while Jin tried and failed at not looking at his muscular back. Namjoon put on the undershirt and wore the outer robes, trying to figure out where was what. He put one hand through the sleeve but wasn’t getting the other hand right, the sash of the robe coming in the way.

‘Here,’ Jin held the shirt and guided his wrist through it.

‘I’m always so clumsy,’ Namjoon said in a small voice. Jin sensed Namjoon was oddly nervous today. Was it because there would be a dance? Because Namjoon was never the one to show his fear.

‘Your clumsy but adorable. Like a cute monster,’ Jin said, never to the one to shy away from cheesy stuff.

‘Monster,’ Namjoon chuckled.

‘Well you are quite big,’ Jin said, running his hands over the length of Namjoon’s shoulder and then turning him to the front. He adjusted the robe, eyes going over the outlines of Namjoon’s chest. Namjoon saw him looking, enjoying the attention, but at the same time wondered if he was mistaken and Jin was just looking at the woven golden threadwork.

Jin turned him towards the mirror. ‘There you go,’

‘Perfect,’ Namjoon said.

Jin came behind him and put his chin on his shoulder, ‘Our first ball!’ He squeezed his eyes in excitement.

‘I hope I’ve practiced enough for dance. This is my first time. You’ve at least learned it from home,’

‘I’m a little nervous too,’ Jin said.

‘You don’t need to,’ Namjoon said. ‘Didn’t you say, it doesn’t matter what your feet do because everyone will be looking at your face,’

Jin realized the embarrassment of his own statements and buried his face into Namjoon’s shoulder blade.

There were impatient knocks on the door and Jin opened it. A few boys tumbled in, all half dressed, one with shoes in his hands, the other shirtless and another with just his dress shirt and a pair of orange boxers on. They were dragging in a red haired person, who looked like he had stepped out of a 1920’s painting.

‘What is this?’ Jin asked in concern, eyes going up and down Charlie Weasley’s attire.

‘Please help him. He’s feeling too embarrassed to ask,’ one of the friends laughed.

‘This is not what I had in mind when I told mum to send dress robes!’ Charlie held his hands up for Jin to see the lacy frills of his maroon outfit. ‘I look like my great aunt Tessie!’

‘Maybe we could….’ Jin held the frills of the collar in his hands, ‘Remove these and, change out of that shirt, it’s like a cupcake frosting. You can take one of mine. And don’t worry so much, you are handsome enough that people won’t bother with the era of the dress robes.

‘I am Ash Vorhart’s partner,’ Charlie said. ‘Vorhart!!’ He threw his hands up, because everyone knew she would be dressed beautifully like she always does. ‘We won’t even match!’

‘Fear not,’ Jin said confidently. ‘You still have me,’ he whipped his wand out. ‘Give me your coat and wear the shirt I’m giving you. Let’s ditch those pants for something that fits you better. Do you have any black pants?’

‘Yes I have one,’ Charlie said.

‘Great, go get them,’

A few smaller boys seemed to have lined up behind them. Jin peered from the sides of the 5th years towards the first years.

‘Umm… Kim Seokjin?’ One of the boys asked. ‘Could you… could you please help us with these?’ He held out a bow tie. ‘None of us really know how to tie it,’

‘Of course,’ Jin ushered the 3 boys in. He sat on the chair of his study table and the boys lined in front of him.

‘So,’ Jin asked while doing the bow of the first one, ‘Are you all excited for the dance?’

The boy shrugged, ‘I dunno. I’ve never been to a ball before,’

‘Have you been to such dances?’ The boy behind him asked Jin.

‘Yes I’ve been to a few,’ Jin replied.

‘Are you really a prince?’ The same boy asked and Jin burst out laughing. He patted the boy in front to move since his bow was done and started with the second one who was looking at Jin with big green eyes.

‘I’m not really a prince,’ Jin said to him.

‘Are you not?’ Namjoon questioned him, lying on his elbow on the bed. ‘Your royal highness,’

‘Stop it,’ Jin gave him a look.

‘Don’t lie to these kids, it’s not princely behaviour,’ Namjoon teased him more.

‘Yah!’ He swatted a hand in Namjoon’s direction. ‘Don’t pay attention to him,’ he told the boys. Namjoon watched Jin carefully securing all the bows and adjusting their coats and their hair. The caring persona came naturally to Jin, it was so endearing that Namjoon wanted to hug him from the back and suddenly Namjoon’s thoughts wandered to how good of a father Jin would be. His chest tightened warmly imagining it. Jin would make the most caring father.

‘Go on! Make Gryffindor proud!’ He sent the boys out.

‘Namjoon?’ One of them turned to ask, ‘can we please stay beyond 9PM at the dance?’

‘Yeah! It’s not fair, seniors get to stay till 12!’

‘It’s the rule kiddo,’ Namjoon patted his head. ‘I’m sorry I can’t do anything about it. Once your older, why don’t you ask Dumbledore for a ball again?’

‘Yeah. If this one goes well, maybe in 5 years you’ll have a Yule Ball again. I have a strong feeling they’ll hold this again,’

‘5 years!!! That’s too long!’

‘What if I get expelled before that,’

‘Why do all first years think they’ll get expelled for anything and everything?’ Namjoon shook his head.

Jin whispered in his ear, ‘That’s how Charlie is keeping them in line,’

‘Ok go along now,’ Namjoon said to the boys, ‘We should finish getting ready as well right?’

6 PM

Jungkook walked down from his dormitory, feeling queasy about the task at hand. Yugyeom had told him Sierra was quite upset since the news about him and Laura broke out. Tonight was a big night where she had thought she would be going with him for the ball. Sierra had been his good friend since the third year or so, and Jungkook couldn’t help but feel guilty.

He asked Sierra to meet him at the turn of the corridor outside their common room where they won’t be seen or heard by their housemates.

‘Yes Jungkook?’ Seirra asked him coldly. her green eyes fierce.

‘How are you?’

‘I’m totally fine, why?’

‘Ok… Yugyeom told me you are upset,’

‘Upset?’ Sierra faked confusion, her voice going higher with each word. ‘Why would I be upset?’

‘I don’t know. So I thought I should ask you if there’s anything,’

‘No… there’s nothing,’

‘Ok, good,’ Jungkook tried to smile.

‘But I’m hearing news about you,’ Sierra’s voice shivered. ‘You… You’re… you’re dating Dracwyn,’

Here it was…

‘Yes,’ Jungkook said calmly.

‘Who would’ve thought,’ she laughed dryly. ‘Though I was getting suspicious,’

‘Hmm. So… is everything good then?’ Jungkook asked. He could see it wasn’t and Seirra would just lie about being ok. But maybe the lie is what they needed right now to be cordial as prefects.

‘Yes yes,’ Seirra’s voice was high again. ‘Everything’s totally fine!’ she waved her hand. There was a pause. ‘Listen Jungkook…’

The boy looked up.

‘It’s better if you don’t come asking and showing concern towards me. Let’s just be… as two prefects need to be and nothing more,’

Jungkook didn’t know what to answer to that. He had clearly hurt her enough to make her say this.

‘So I hope that’s clear,’ Sierra said. ‘I should go get changed… for the ball,’

‘Uhuh,’ Jungkook nodded and she left and Jungkook would be lying if he said that didn’t make him feel heavy. But he was not going to let this get to him tonight. Tonight was the last night with his friends before the Christmas break. He couldn’t spend it wallowing in self guilt.

He looked to the side and found Hoseok walking towards the Ravenclaw door, holding a blonde girl’s hand.

‘Would you relax?’ Hoseok said to Vanessa. ‘I am sure she’ll say yes,’

‘I’m too late to ask. Someone’s probably asked her already,’

‘If anyone did, I think she said no,’ Hoseok said, facing Vanessa.

‘Don’t build up my hope-’

‘I know it. I know she’s not going with anyone. And I also know why,’

Vanessa took a deep breathe, ‘Alright…’ she nodded. ‘I’ll do it,’

‘Good,’ Hoseok beamed and turned to knock on the door but Vanessa held his wrist and tugged him back once again.

‘What-’

‘Thanks Hobi,’ Vanessa said quietly. ‘You really are… golden hearted and I don’t mean just for this… I mean for the past 5 years. I didn’t know our friendship would survive it all. But here you are, helping me all the same-’

Hoseok held both her hands and moved closer, planting a kiss on her forehead, completely stunning Vanessa.

‘You don’t get to thank me. I should be thanking you,’ he said to her.

‘What? Why would you-’

‘For not hating me, or holding a grudge against me,’

‘Hobi I would never do that,’ Vanessa said with knitted brows.

‘Someone else would’ve,’ Hoseok said. ‘I know I’m the reason you and Yoongi broke up,’

She was stunned for a moment, eyes widening, ‘He told you?’

‘He didn’t have to. From the things he mentioned here and there, I figured it out. And you actually helped him get over the guilt and move on to find his happiness. So you don’t get to thank me. You don’t ever need to. You deserve every happiness that comes your way, and more,’

Vanessa smiled, blinking so that she doesn’t get teary.

‘Starting with your Yule Ball date!’ Hoseok beamed. ‘Let me get Emina out so you can ask her,’

*

Taehyung was in his room, adjusting the pin on his white cloak in front of the mirror. He smoothed his hair with his hands. He heard his housemates excitedly dressing up, cracking jokes and laughing. He was happy… yet not completely. He would never be, until he could unapologetically be himself. Truly be himself, embrace every aspect of his. Taehyung placed his hand on the mirror. ‘Can I stop hiding? Will the world crumble if I be who I am?’

Taehyung stared at his reflection hard. The world won’t crumble down. If he let go just a little. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A layer of frost coated the mirror in front of him, spreading to the window panes and when Taehyung opened his eyes, he could see a hazy reflection of himself, his true self.

6 45 PM

‘How we doing?’ Jimin rushed towards the stage, buttoning cuff of his sleeve. One side of his black and silver coat hung from his shoulder, his bow tie was undone and face flushed with anticipation. His eyes were hooded in concentration and eyebrows sharp and alert.

‘The entire light team hasn't assembled yet,’ Lee said. ‘One of them is missing,’

‘Dammit,’ Jimin cursed.

‘Park do you want the blue background first or pink?’ One of the stage props incharge asked him.

‘This is why I told you all to get this done by last night! The show needs to start in 15 minutes! You,’ he pointed to someone in the lighting team, ‘Get those 3 stage lights on and spotlight on standby. Where’s the sound team?’ He looked around. ‘Yeah put the blue background,’ he waved off the boy. ‘Sound team!?’

Ash was watching it all with a slight smile. Jimin looked good when trying to control everything. His eyes were serious and there was no trace of a smile on those sinful lips. It was a complete contrast to his soft, smol image that they were all used to. This side of him only came out when he needed to put up a performance, like this show, or Quidditch, where he knew he needs to do his best. His passion for things he is interested in, made every action of his arousing.

‘Sound team is everything ready?’ He asked.

‘Yes,’ Yugyeom said. ‘I have the whole schedule here. Have the systems for sound effects, music, performer’s list right here,’

‘Awesome,’ Jimin patted his back.

‘Don't you wanna finish getting ready now?’ Yugyeom asked. ‘You are giving the opening speech right?’

‘Yeah I should get to it, as soon As I FIND THE MISSING LIGHT GUY!’ He called out to the crowd.

‘WHERE IS MY PARTNER?’ They heard a familiar yell at the top of her lungs. ‘HE TOLD ME HE’LL BE HERE!’

‘Calm down Laura,’ Jimin said to deranged person. ‘He’ll be here any minute,’

‘Jimin I'm nervous,’ Laura looked like she would throw up. ‘I’ve… never done anything like this before! What if I fall-’

‘You’ve given interviews to the Daily Prophet. That's much more scarier than this,’ Jimin tried to calm her down.

‘Where’s Jungkook! The longer this gets, the more I overthink-’

‘I'm here, I'm here!’ He hopped in like a bunny, wearing his beautiful blue silk shirt. His dark fluffy hair bounced with him. He kept his dark blue coat carefully on the hanger, the shoulders of which were sown with with diamond like white stones.

‘Ok, so we are gonna start,’ Jimin looked at his watch. ‘In 10 minutes. I'm gonna go make the announcement and then your performance is right after Dumbledore’s speech. Are you ready?’

Jungkook and Laura spoke together, ‘yes,’ ‘I don't know,’

‘Kookie,’ Jimin said to him. ‘Tell Laura it's gonna be fine. I gotta go now, do a final check,’

Jungkook looked at Laura once Jimin left. ‘C’mon lets see your dress,’ he said.

‘But you saw it yesterday,’ Laura said, opening her overcoat to reveal the purple dress chosen for the dance.

‘Doesn't mean I don't wanna relive the moment. Coz it was glorious,’ he said and his face wore the same expression of awe that it did when he saw her in the dress for the first time.

‘Stop it,’ Laura covered her face.

‘So beautiful,’ Jungkook enveloped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. ‘Why do you have to be nervous when you’re looking this good? I think I might just black out seeing you look so gorgeous on stage,’

‘Oh my god you can't black out! What will I do if you-’ she lifted her worried head to find him grinning down at her. ‘Ha ha very funny Jeon Jungkook. You’re such an actor,’

Jungkook bent down so their face were on level, ‘I’d never act with you,’

Laura rolled her eyes, not knowing if he was being real or playing.

‘Hey I swear to you! I swear it on my coconut head!’ He held his palm up.

‘Hey you mushy love birds!’ Jin came in huffing and puffing and everyone’s actions just stilled for a moment to take in his beauty. Jin could turn heads on a daily basis. Today, he looked so ethereally beautiful that he would even be able to stop time. ‘Where is my partner?’

‘Your singing partner or your dance partner?’ Jungkook asked.

‘I don’t have a dance partner!’ Jin looked impatient. ‘Where is Kim Taehyung!’

‘He’ll arrive soon, don’t worry,’ Laura said. ‘Oh… is that… him?’

They saw a boy walk in, his skin pale, eyes shining like sapphires and hair platinum blonde. He wore a royal blue suit with red lining. A white cloak was clasped around him with a silver snowflake pin.

‘Tae?’ Jin asked questioningly, looking at his hair and then at him.

‘Yes, is there a problem?’ Taehyung asked, voice and face as calm as a frozen lake.

‘Yes there is a problem,’ Jin said. ‘But I better not voice it,’

Taehyung looked at Jungkook and Laura. ‘Do you have a problem too?’

‘Tae…’ Jungkook was in conflict. ‘Listen, I’m not someone who can tell you what to do and what not to. But if you are wondering if I’m worried about the number of eyes observing you right now, then yes I am worried about that,’

‘But what will they do to me, except look,’ Taehyung said and then looked at Jin, ‘You told me you will try to understand me, or at best, let me be. You said that didn’t you? Then why the face right now? I’m just trying to be who I actually am. Without hiding. Tonight might be the only night in this castle that I can do that, during the Yule Ball. I know that you know how it feels to hide,’ he said it bluntly.

Jin couldn't deny what he said. Of course he had been living with a dual personality all his life, trying to be the perfect son for his parents- well mannered, showing a sense of pride, showing his family’s legacy to be the priority. He loved coming to Hogwarts because here, at least for a few hours in a day, when he was with his friends, he could be who he really was. He could be a dork if he wanted to, he could yell and shout and dance, he could cook without the elves fussing, he could lay on Namjoon’s lap and be with the one he loved the most. Jin wished he could be like that all time, but he couldn’t. If Tae wanted the same, he should have it.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jin said. ‘I was startled… but I understand now,’ he tried to smile at the boy. ‘Shall we?’ He gestured him backstage. Taehyung’s expression relaxed slightly but he still didn’t smile yet.

‘I don’t want to fight with you,’ Taehyung said.

‘I never said you did,’ Jin replied.

‘I don’t know… sometimes you make me feel like I’m instigating the fights between us. I’m really not trying to do that,’

‘I’m sorry you felt that way,’ Jin said. ‘Can we put all that behind us now?’ Jin took his hand. It was cold, unnaturally cold but the ice in Taehyung’s eyes finally melted and he could see a pool of crystal blue shimmering in them.

Taehyung’s face softened and he nodded, ‘Thank you,’

They heard Jimin’s voice booming on stage and got in line with the other performers.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[John William - Reunion of Friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aQEcHwRCmo&ab_channel=jediking12) _

 Jimin climbed up on stage and the spotlight hit him brightly. He couldn’t see the audience much, which was probably a good thing because he was a bit nervous. He hoped he didn’t stutter and his voice didn’t crack. He hoped his jokes weren’t too lame and hoped he held the audience.

His introduction was short and precise. He was glad to see the people smiling and not breaking into chit chat. He welcomed all, thanked everyone for putting this event together, thanked the staff for letting him have this opportunity. When he exited to give Dumbledore the stage, he could hear people cheering his name and even a few whistles.

‘They love you,’ Ash was backstage to usher him in.

‘Are you sure?’ It was a proud moment for Jimin. He was beaming ear to ear. They watched Dumbledore give his speech, and call in the opening act at the end of it. Jimin and Ash gave each other excited smiles seeing Jungkook and Laura walk on stage. Thankfully Laura had managed to mask the nervousness at the stage. Jimin held Ash’s hand and squeezed it, watching proudly as his friends performed without fault. The audience cheered loudly for the two dancers at the final jump and twirl. Both took their last position, holding hands and facing the audience, who were clapping maddeningly. Jungkook even saw Yugyeom whistle. They bowed to everyone and then ran out of the stage, jumping excitedly.

Taehyung and Jin watched the performances from backstage. And finally Jimin called their name.

‘Nervous?’ Jin asked, looking at Taehyung’s face which showed a hint of his old self, a little unsure, a little innocent. Taehyung nodded and both stepped onto the stage taking their microphones.

‘It’ll be okay, you have an amazing voice Tae,’ Jin smiled and sat in front of the grand dark piano.

They were harmonious. No one had heard them sing before and Taehyung’s deep voice amazingly complimented Jin’s. No one even knew Jin could play the piano so flawlessly. Their voices immersed the people like a euphoric wave washing over them. For the entire performance, the audience was in a trance.

Once it ended, Namjoon stood up and applauded, looking the most proud they had ever seen him and rest followed suit. Jin ended with a flying kiss and tons of roses were thrown at them. The audience kept on cheering for them and Jimin had to tell the stage operators to draw the curtains so that the audience would calm down.

‘You two were amazing,’ Namjoon came towards them at the back of the stage, eyes almost glistening. He looked like he wanted he wanted to give Jin a tight hug but there was too much going on around them.

‘We can head to the seats now right?’ Taehyung asked, feeling like the inevitable third wheel.

The two headed to the audience and sat with Namjoon for the rest of the show. There were dances, more singing, an amazing acapella group which eventually won the competition. Snape was required to hand them a letter of immunity himself and he looked like he would rather be battling a dementor than try to socialise at this event.

‘Now that the competition is over,’ Jimin was back on the stage, ‘We can all proceed to the ball dance! All partners please move in a line towards the Great Hall. There’s a photobooth there as well if you wish to take a photograph,’

The great hall looked beautiful, it had a huge Christmas tree in the side and the food and drinks table to the other. The food looked delicious, from pies to candies and colorful drinks. The clear night sky showing through the Great Hall's cieling was full of star. There was a photo booth, framed with flowers for the couples to take a picture and enter through. The Great Hall shimmered like a castle of ice and glowing candles, with golden goblets in people's hands, snowflakes falling over the huge decorated christmas trees. The elves were enjoying themselves as well, walking around the sides of the room, giggling as they drank butterbeer.

‘Shall we?’ Jin held out his arm and looked at Namjoon.

‘Huh?’ the Head Boy’s eyes looked from Jin’s arm to his face. ‘But aren’t we in the same house? How can we go as partners?’

‘You think I’m the one to follow rules? Who’s going to say no to me right now?’ Jin wiggled his eyebrows. Namjoon had to smile his shy dimpled smile and put his hand through Jin’s arm. Both walked towards the photobooth, getting their picture taken and proceeded to the ballroom where a waltz was playing.

‘Hey Jimin!’ Ash waved, walking towards him with Charlie who was still fidgeting with the frills on his sleeves. Jimin could finally see her beautiful in her green dress. Her brown hair contrasted beautifully with it. He smiled at her and Maria waved in her white and blue jacket with beautiful blue embroidery. Jimin's outfit matched with her well, both in fitted pants and embroidered jackets. But Maria got distracted by something else behind Ash.

‘Oh wow…’

Everyone turned to see Emina, their fierce head girl, wearing a shy smile as she walked in with Vanessa who looked absolutely regal in her grey and silver dress. Emina’s auburn hair looked like fire against the deep blue gown. Both were a sight to behold. Yoongi and Hoseok came behind them. The Slytherin had also opted for a Hanbok inspored robe of lilac and gold, matching with Hoseok's black suit with small golden flowers embroidered over it. His copper hair looked beautiful tonight, parted in the middle and lying in waves. Both were wearing the matching chokers and beaming, hands intertwined.

Dumbledore had another short speech, about thanking the Yule Ball team and once that was over, the music changed to something more upbeat and everyone was just letting their wild side out. Charlie took this opportunity to ‘lose’ his dress robes somewhere in the crowd. Yoongi and Hoseok were having their own dance off, and everyone was clamouring for a chance to dance with Jimin. His persona was more charismatic than ever before, an enigma exuding from him the moment he started to move on the dance floor. He looked like a prince in his dark suit, silver embroidery running over his coat, neck in a high closed collar of small frills. Namjoon and Jin were quietly dancing on the sides, with the occasional interruption by other's wanting to dance with them as well. Dumbledore and the rest of the staff were finally happy, seeing smiles on every face, the groupism clearly reduced to a big extent.

At 9PM, all the prefects had to take the juniors back to their dorms. Post 10 PM, Jin and Yoongi, being the chaotic seniors that they were, smuggled in alcohol, passing it to their friends. By 11 30, Yoongi and Hoseok were missing. Finally the music had died down and the group was sitting on a sofa near the entrance of the courtyard while a slow ballad played in the background.

‘Are we watching the movie or not?’ Jimin asked. ‘Jungkook you built my expectation too high for it and I helped you for three hours trying to set up that video box in the Shrieking Shack,’

‘It’s called a TV,’ Jungkook rolled his eyes.

‘Which movie?’ Jin asked.

‘I don’t know some horror movie,’ Jimin shrugged. ‘Muggles don’t know that ghosts are real. So they get scared of seeing things move on their own,’

‘The movie isn’t about ghosts. It’s about evil spirits. That’s why it’s scary,’ Jungkook said.

‘Well, there should be a way to contact the Spirit Division at the Ministry,’ Jin said. ‘Why are they making movies about it instead,’

‘Oh god you are such a grandpa,’ Jungkook said. ‘Some muggles think they can get rid of the spirits. And that’s how they get to story of the movie,’

‘If we are watching, let’s go. I’m already sleepy,’ Ash yawned.

‘Yeah, we gotta wake up to go home tomorrow too,’ Laura rubbed her eyes.

‘Who’s taking Tae Tae to his room?’ Jungkook asked. The boy was asleep on Jimin’s lap after dancing all night.

‘I don’t know, one of you kids do it,’ Namjoon said, lounging back on the sofa, his arm winding around the head rest behind Jin.

‘Stone paper scissor,’ Jungkook said, bringing out his hand. The four boys played the game and Jimin lost, having to detour to the Hufflepuff common room.

‘That is the first time I’ve won against Jungkook,’ Jin laughed, tipsy from the drinks they’ve had.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Sleeping At Last - Turning Page Instrumental](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK6JQSPFzPM&ab_channel=SleepingAtLast-Topic) _

Namjoon looked at Jin laughing. Head thrown back and the wiper laugh tinkling forth, almost a melody to his ears. Namjoon was so far gone, his dimples deepened and his hands reached Jin’s knee resting there for a beat to get his attention. Jin’s ears were red now, happy tears collecting on his long lashes as he turned his head towards Namjoon.

They held their gazes for a moment: soft, comfortable, and flutter inducing. This place that stretched within them, the miniscule distance, that space was theirs and theirs alone. Secret, accepting, and indulgent, any words that passed here in this silence would be safe with the other. Namjoon’s laughter slowed down and he looked down at their hands.

‘Jin?’ He asked as his cheeks burned. ‘Why didn't you take another date to the ball? So many people asked you,’

‘I took a date to the ball, the only date I wanted,’ Jin said, his brown eyes were warm . ‘Didn't you figure that out yet?’

Namjoon gazed deep into him but didn't say anything further and before he knew it, he was bending forward, closing the distance between them. Jin’s hand went up to softly curved around the other’s neck and their lips touched. It was brief, like a light tread on the waters. After a short breath Namjoon went in again and kissed Jin, and then again until Jin’s hands were cupping Namjoon’s face and their lips were starting to wrap around each other’s heatedly. Slowly, Namjoon pulled away a little, opening his eyes to look at the man he loves.

‘So you did figure it out,’ Jin smiled.

‘Took me a while didn't it?’ Namjoon sighed.

‘An eternity!’ Jin’s eyes widened in mock anger. ‘How do you plan to make for it?’

‘Students!’ They heard Filch’s voice in the corridor behind them. ‘All students off to bed! Return to your dorms! This isn't an all night party!’

‘I guess we should head back,’ Namjoon said. Both darted towards the Gryffindor tower before Filch or his cat could lay eyes on them.

During the walk back on the familiar path, they felt like their entire world had shifted. Each brush of their arm sent a current through their bodies. The anticipation of what they were now was making them both nervous and excited.

As soon as they reached the common room, they were bulldozed by their housemates who had decided that the party must go on. Jin saw huge beer mugs being clinked, the alcohol spilling over on the carpet, their entire common room was a huge, loud mess. Namjoon refused the beer offers and told everyone he’s heading to sleep. Jin called behind him, pretending to yawn loudly, muttered something about ‘getting old’ and ran behind him to the dormitories.

Namjoon opened the door and almost stumbled in, a giggly Jin was right behind him. Both entered, still laughing and Jin shut the door. When he turned to the room, Namjoon’s eyes were on him, a smile on his lips, an endearing smile. Namjoon stepped closer until Jin was gently pressed against the shut door. Jin could hear his heartbeat in his ears at the contact.

Namjoon swallowed, pressing closer. Jin was still only looking at him, precisely he was looking at Namjoon’s lips- soft and promising. His eyelids fluttered close as their lips met again, pushing him slightly back before moving forward into the kiss again. This time, Jin’s lips parted and his tongue licked Namjoon’s lips while they kissed. The heat building inside Namjoon was taking over him and soon, their mouths were moving faster, hungrier unlike the first chaste kisses they had.

They had spent every moment in school, awake and asleep with each other for more than 6 years. Both knew each other’s heart and mind in and out.

Jin was pushing Namjoon backward, knowing their room too well. When Namjoon felt the edge of the bed touch his calves he pulled away briefly, sitting on the bed and pulling Jin on top of him.

‘What…’ Namjoon spoke between the kisses, trying to catch his breath. ‘Jin, what should we-’

‘Sshh,’ Jin silenced him, continuing the kisses, ‘we could do whatever you want,’

‘How did you know I was gonna ask that?’

Jin pulled away and smiled then pressed his forehead to Namjoon’s, ‘I don’t know, I feel like I know your thoughts. I hope that’s alright? I’m not trying to do it on purpose,’

Namjoon smiled, turning him over until he was on top, ‘It’s alright, maybe it’s a good thing. I don’t plan on hiding anything from you… unless…’

‘Unless?’ Jin looked surprised as he propped himself on his elbows.

Namjoon rubbed the back of his head shyly, ‘What if you think my mind is too much? Or maybe if I have some angry thoughts in the moment which I don’t really mean,’

‘You underestimate how much I know you Kim Namjoon,’ Jin pushed a lock of his golden hair away from his forehead. ‘Everyone has negative thoughts. Like I keep telling you, you are human too,’ he pulled him down and wrapped his hands around him. ‘If your thoughts are different from mine, so what? And it's not like I can hear your thoughts in my head, it’s just my instinct that speaks in my mind. I’m not always right,’

Namjoon rolled to lay beside him. ‘Jin…’ he brushed his face. The older turned to him as well, entangling their legs together. ‘I want you to know… I… I don’t know what you have to do for your family… but, I really want to be with you. Really, really want to be with you, for as long as you would have me,’

Jin grabbed his face and pulled him, kissing him opened mouth on his lips. The sensation of Jin’s wet, plump lips instantly made Namjoon part his lips and their tongues slithered together. He felt Jin’s hand wander over his shoulder, sliding the robe down. Namjoon rolled over, knees resting on either side of Jin.

‘What?’ Jin asked about the look Namjoon was giving him.

Namjoon smiled. ‘You know, I like it when you fix things for me. Especially my clothes,’

Jin chuckled, shaking his head, ‘Well this time it’s the opposite of fixing,’ His smile never faltered, it only grew when he looked into the other’s eyes. Namjoon’s expression was open, almost gentle eliciting a deep twinge of warmth in Jin’s chest that spread to his extremities and concentrated on his neck and cheeks.

Namjoon just wanted to look at him, laying so close, hands busy at wanting to touch as much of Namjoon’s bare skin as possible. Jin’s hands deftly pulled Joon’s shirt over. His gaze travelled from Namjoon’s collarbone to his lips and then to his eyes.

‘Kiss me again?’

Namjoon's eyes darkened and he bent lower. He took his time, lips nuzzling Jin’s jawline, his neck, making Jin tilt his head back so he would have better access. Namjoon’s tongue moved softly over his skin, heating every inch he touched. His movements changed, peppering the column of his neck with quick kisses, making audible sounds while Namjoon took off Jin’s shirt too.

Jin’s lips parted in sighs and his hands were running over Namjoon’s bare back. The caress of his hands were arousing Namjoon to do more than just lightly kiss Jin’s skin and he looked up, leveling his face with the older.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jin asked, eyes still closed. ‘Why did you stop? You know how long I’ve been waiting to feel those lips?’ He chuckled and opened his eyes to find Namjoon looking a little unsure.

‘I... I don’t want to take things too fast if you aren’t up for it,’ Namjoon said.

‘My dear Joonie,’ Jin kept his forearms on Namjoon’s shoulders, ‘Then we’ll be grandfathers to Jimin’s children by the time you decide to get all over me,’ Jin grabbed his waist and pulled him close enough that their torsos were pressed together. ‘There’s nothing in your mind that I haven’t wished doing with you before. You don’t have to hesitate,’ he cupped Namjoon’s face. ‘Stop questioning. Start doing what you want to,’

Namjoon’s eyes gazed at Jin for a moment and then something changed in him at the older’s words. Jin’s eyes were inviting, even desperate to an extent. He looked like he just wanted Namjoon right now, with his one hand stretched to hold the back of Namjoon’s head, fingers knitted in his hair, grazing at his scalp, Jin lips were red and parted, wanting to close on the younger’s again. And so Namjoon put all his doubts behind, and dived back in.

Tongues rolling together, their bodies rolled on the bed too, hands wandering everywhere. Namjoon gripped and squeezed Jin’s thighs, grabbing his ass and pushing him against himself. He rolled him over, coming back on top again and kissing Jin’s smooth shoulders, tongue laving over the collarbone that Namjoon had been eyeing since a while. His fingers lightly grazed over Jin’s dark nipples and that’s when he heard the moan from Jin which he never imagined would turn him on to such a degree that he felt he would combust with the heat. Soon he closed his mouth over the hard nub and Jin was arching is back, moaning helplessly, clutching on to the fabric of the pillowcase tightly.

‘Oh my god Joonie…’ he gasped. ‘You’re so…’

Namjoon lifted his head up, ‘I’m so?’

‘Intense… amazing, I don’t know, get back to what you were doing,’

Namjoon chuckled, taking his tongue to the other side, rolling it over the nipple, making the bud move in circles. Jin’s toes were curling in, feet rubbing into the mattress. He was sweating, cheeks flushed like a strawberry.

Namjoon kissed his chest, fingers caressed his torso, going down to the belt around his waist and he took it off while kissing Jin’s stomach.

Jin giggled lightly, ‘It tickles,’ he grabbed Namjoon’s hair by reflex to cease the tickling but the younger just rubbed his face more into the soft flesh, making Jin laugh out. That was music to Namjoon’s ears, hearing true and pure laughter from Jin. He pulled Jin’s pants off his legs. His eyes went from the bulge in Jin’s underwear towards his face. He was completely flushed, catching his breath after the laughter, his hair a mess. Namjoon went up and kissed him again, hand palming the length and Jin bit Namjoon’s lip, eyebrows knitted. His moans muffled through the kiss and Namjoon was pulling down his underwear while Jin’s hands were now taking Namjoon’s pants off him.

Soon they were naked, hands wandering further. Jin grabbed Namjoon’s ass and pressed him closer, grinding himself on him. Namjoon grunted, feeling his cock rub between in their stomachs. He aligned his face to Jin’s, foreheads pressing and held both their cocks together in his palm. He closed his fingers around them and started to rock into Jin.

‘Did you imagine this too?’ Namjoon asked him with hooded eyes. Jin closed eyes were crinkled, eyebrows contorted, the grip around his length and the friction from Namjoon’s making him reach his orgasm. All Jin could give for an answer was in incohorent, hiccuping ‘yes’. He felt Namjoon’s thumb rub over his tip, spreading their precum over their lengths, letting Namjoon go faster. Both were reduced to a mess of pants and moans, sweat building on their flushed chests.

‘Joo-nie,’ Jin’s breaths were getting shorter. Namjoon licked the lobe of his ear, then his mouth latched onto his neck. The feel of Namjoon’s wet mouth on the tender skin of his neck coupled with the friction below drove Jin over the edge and he came, releasing onto his chest. He was panting deeply, eyes still closed and felt Namjoon’s lips kiss the crown on his head softly. Jin grabbed his head and kissed him before opening his eyes.

Namjoon was looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and need. Jin’s eyes were just ravishing him up, going from his lips to his eyes, thumb stroking his cheek. He pushed Namjoon down on the bed and climbed over him.

He kissed Namjoon’s neck while stroking his cock. Namjoon never knew it could feel so good. Jin’s touch was magical, lighting him up wherever his fingers lingered. Namjoon was moaning in a way he himself couldn’t have imagined. Jin’s teeth grazed over his nipples and then he was sucking on them. He made Namjoon watch how his mouth opened and closed around them, leaving it wet and then Jin went down further, settling between his legs. He kissed his inner thighs, leaving small bites on the sensitive flesh. Namjoon’s dick was throbbing by this point. Jin’s fingers were lightly tracing the veins over it and then he kissed the tip. Namjoon’s mouth was open in gasps at the image of Jin’s perfect, sensuous lips around his cock. He felt the older’s tongue rub along his length and then he sucked. And Jin heard Namjoon use a pet name for him for the first time.

‘Oh baby, this feels.. So good,’ Namjoon’s hands were tugging at his hair. He was bucking up a little so Jin went deeper, hollowing his cheeks.

‘Fuck!’ Namjoon bit his lower lip. ‘I…’

Jin went at it so committedly, it made him come into his mouth and Jin took it all in. For some reason, that made Namjoon feel a mix of pride and joy. Jin pushed himself up and Namjoon was still watching him with the same hunger. The younger’s thumb rubbed on Jin’s plump, pink lips and then grabbed his face, pulling him over himself into a hug. Namjoon wrapped his arms around him while he lay on Namjoon’s chest, his hand curving around his neck.

‘Jin?’ Namjoon’s voice slightly shivered and Jin could hear his heartbeat faster again even though he had just been coming down from his orgasm. Was he nervous?

‘Yeah Joonie?’ He asked gently.

Joon didn’t reply but his heartbeat was getting even faster.

‘You don’t have to be scared,’ Jin said. ‘Please tell me. Don’t doubt,’

‘No I shouldn’t… it’s nothing,’

‘Namjoon,’ Jin’s voice was firm. ‘I’d want to hear it more than you know,’

‘I…’ Namjoon’s voice shivered again. ‘I am… I might be…’ he breathed out again. ‘I think, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you,’

Jin lifted his head up to look at him. To his surprise, Namjoon had tears at the corner of his eyes and that immediately alarmed Jin.

‘Why are you crying? What happened?’

Namjoon smiled, wiping his tears away, ‘I don’t know… maybe…’ he sniffled, ‘Maybe because you are so damn important to me that I don’t know… it’s overwhelming,’

Jin took Namjoon’s hand and kissed it, the fingers, the palm, then the wrist. He hugged him, kissing his neck and then coming to his ears.

‘Joonie I don’t know since how long I’ve been in love with you,’ Jin said. ‘I’d trade the entire world for you,’

Saying that he lay on the side, watching Joon’s face. Namjoon faced him and stroked his cheeks, Jin was smiling and so, Namjoon smiled too, closing his eyes to sleep in Jin’s arms.

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Sleeping At Last - Never Tear Us Apart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEFudun4MxM&ab_channel=TheInspirationalMind) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D :D 
> 
>  
> 
> **DON'T FORGET THE SHORT BONUS CHAPTER!**


	22. A Short Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NAMJINNERS WE FINALLY BEEN FED!!! A BUFFET! :D
> 
> Here's your short bonus chapter!

They woke up to the noises of students walking and bags being dragged across the floor. Namjoon and Jin slowly tore away from each other’s arms, squinting their eyes and stretching their limbs. The cold air hit their warm, naked bodies, making them shiver. Jin looked at Namjoon with the biggest warmest smile and kissed his forehead quickly before sliding off to the bathroom.

Both took turns brushing and Jin went in to take a shower. After he turned on the water, he heard a knock on the door and opened it. Namjoon stood on the other side in a bathrobe.

‘Can I join you?’ He asked.

‘Of course,’ Jin opened the door wide and walked towards the shower, letting Joon have a view of his naked rear which the younger evidently savoured. Namjoon stripped himself and walked in under the steaming water. He stood behind Jin, hands coming over his waist, lips kissing his bare shoulder. Jin pressed himself into Namjoon and felt his length harden on his ass. Joon tugged on Jin’s hair lightly so he would push his neck back, and Namjoon licked and bit him over the expanse of the smooth column. Jin pushed himself up again, rubbing his ass on Joon’s length. Namjoon pushed him against the wall in front, taking his licking mouth from his shoulders, over his back, kissing the dip of his waist, down towards his butt where he playfully nibbled his ass cheeks.

‘Joon you’re teasing me,’ Jin breathed, feeling the other’s fingers lightly run up and down his thighs.

‘Am I now?’ Namjoon said, turning him around. He settled on his knees, face in level with Jin’s cock. He kissed it, feather light kisses from the base to the tip, making him twitch.

Jin closed his eyes as a shiver passed through him. ‘You’re still teasing me,’

He felt Joon’s lips curve into a smile over his pelvis and then, suddenly, the warmth of Joon’s tongue stroked his length.

Jin sighed and held him by the hair. He looked down to see him taking him into his mouth, going deep immediately. He bobbed his head in and out, popping his cock out momentarily to suck at his pink tip. Jin hissed, tugging at his hair.

‘Been wanting to do this since a long while,’ Namjoon said, looking up at him. ‘And this too,’ his hand replaced his mouth on his cock because now, Namjoon was travelling further down, lightly, softly, licking and sucking at Jin’s balls.

‘Oh fuck Joonie, how do you.. do.. that,’ Jin was gasping. Namjoon’s tongue dwelled a little further, licking his perineum. It felt so good, creating sensations Jin never thought were possible. His knees were getting weaker by the minute, it felt so darn good. He was moaning with each hard stroke of the younger’s hand. Jin was breathing hard, knees almost giving away but Namjoon caught him and Jin released over his hand. Namjoon softly bit his hip bone before coming back up and Jin immediately enveloped him in a kiss, just like before.

‘I’m not gonna see you for 10 days now,’ Jin said. ‘I don’t want to stay away… not after this. I don’t,’

‘I know…’ Namjoon nodded, cradling Jin’s face. ‘But it’s Christmas, you won’t even know where they days go, especially at your house with the celebrations,’

‘Not when I’d rather have you on me than be all alone at those feasts,’ Jin said. ‘There won’t be a moment when I won’t be thinking of you,’

Namjoon kissed his cheek and both hugged each other for a while under the shower, feeling the warm water splatter on their bodies. Eventually Namjoon grabbed Jin’s shampoo, his favourite strawberry scented and lathered it on Jin’s head massaging his scalp for a while.

*

Jungkook opened his eyes slowly. He looked to the side and realized we was on the floor. He blinked a few times, eyelids still heavy with sleep. There were voices coming from the other side, soft and low like they were talking quietly. One of the voices was Jimin’s. Jungkook turned towards it and first saw Laura sleeping on his own shoulder, hands curled into fists.

Oh yeah, we all were watching a movie..

Faintly he started remembering. He was woken up by Jimin during the movie who told him to sleep on the makeshift bed instead of the rug in front of the tv. Jungkook had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. And somewhere along the night, Laura had decided to switch the bed’s comfort to be on the floor with Jungkook.

Laura’s fist had a tight grip on Jungkook’s shirt. Jimin called him, telling him to wake up and Laura stirred with that sound, slowly opening her eyes, the mascara and liner smudged all over. Jungkook was smiling at her. He kissed her nose before getting up.

‘Let’s nap a little longer,’ Ash said to Jimin. Ash and Jimin were still wrapped under the blankets, spooning, pillowtalk still on.

‘You all will miss the train if you nap longer,’ Jimin said.

‘But I won’t see you for 10 days now…’ Ash said, rolling over and hugging him.

‘It will pass soon,’ Jimin kissed her head.

‘I’d really rather stay with you here if there’s a full moon-’

‘No,’ Jimin’s tone was kind but firm. ‘Please Ash, we’ve discussed this too many times now. My answer is not going to change. You don’t know how I feel when the people I’m closest to see me in pain,’

‘Alright,’ Ash hugged him, not wanting to part ways with a disagreement. At least with the castle empty, it will be easier for the staff to properly protect Jimin and Taehyung.

By noon the castle was emptying out. Every corridor from the common rooms was crowded with students getting their bags for the short vacation at home. The group walked to the Hogsmeade station in the light snowfall, feeling a kind of attachment that they hadn’t felt before at having to leave the castle.

‘Have fun you all,’ Taehyung waved at them while they loaded their luggage into the Hogwarts Express. His hair looked almost silver in the winter sunlight. He looked one with the snowy landscape of the village.

‘We’ll miss you both,’ Ash looked at the boy and then Jimin and hugged them, trying not to wince at how cold taehyung’s body was.

‘You’ll take care right?’ Jungkook came forward as Taehyung pulled away from Ash.

‘Of course,’ Taehyung smiled. ‘Don’t worry about me at all, besides I have Jimin,’

Everyone hugged the two boys and went in to get an empty compartment. Jin was the last one, lingering behind a little.

‘Tae…’ He placed a hand on the boy’s back. ‘You’ll write to me? I’ll write to you,’

‘Jin it’s just 10 days, you’re getting so sentimental,’ Taehyung chuckled but not whole heartedly.

‘You’re right… I shouldn’t… crowd you,’ Jin looked away, clearly a bit hurt.

‘That’s not what I meant,’ Taehyung tried to clear it out but lately words weren’t working too well when he spoke to Jin.

‘Anyway,’ Jin looked up with an effortful smile, ‘Please take care of yourself. And of Jimin… be safe,’

Jimin and Taehyung waved them goodbye and watched the train disappear into the far horizon.

The train journey back to King’s Cross station took about 6 hours. All of them shared a compartment, talking about how they’ll be spending Christmas. As they all were chatting, Emina’s eyes zeroed on Namjoon, who’s hands were clearly holding Jin’s under the small table. Was he so naive that he thought they wouldn’t notice? Both of his hands were playing with Jin’s fingers, fiddling with the ring he wore, entwining his own fingers between his while he watched Jin talk.

‘Oh my god,’ Emina interrupted them. ‘And when were you planning to tell me?’ She raised an eyebrow. Both the Gryffindors looked at her in confusion.

‘What?’ Namjoon slowly let go of Jin’s hand.

‘You don’t have to hide it,’ Emina said. ‘We all already know it was gonna happen,’

Namjoon and Jin looked around the compartment at their friends and each one of them nodded.

‘See I told you it’ll happen at the ball,’ Hoseok said to Yoongi. ‘I knew this is why Jin rejected everyone,’

‘Fine you win,’ Yoongi shook his head, handing him 2 Galleons.

‘Well then,’ Jin said loudly, ‘I’m glad you all know. We weren’t hiding, we just, wanted to tell you at the right time,’

‘And when would that have been? When Jungkook gets married?’ Emina sassed, making Jungkook almost choke on his banana milk.

After half a day’s journey, they arrived at King’s Cross. Everyone left the compartment to let Yoongi and Hoseok say their goodbyes. The two didn’t have to ask, their friends just understood.

‘I’ll write to you,’ Yoongi said. ‘I’ll see if it’s possible for you to come over,’

‘My my, I never thought Min Yoongi would miss me in just 10 days,’ Hoseok teased him.

‘Yeah yeah, joke all you want,’ Yoongi said in embarrassment. ‘I know you won’t miss me, you have your family and your dog and-‘

Hoseok suddenly grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips. A quick kiss before anyone else could see them from the windows. ‘I’ll wait for your letters,’

Laura and Jungkook were getting dragging their luggage towards the carriage door.

‘Remember. No letters. At all. To me,’ Laura said. ‘If you absolutely have to, send coded letters to Ash,’

‘Feels like we are in the FBI,’ Jungkook rolled his eyes.

‘What’s Efbee eye?’

‘It’s like the secret service of Investigative Aurors, but for Muggles,’

‘It’s 10 days only so shouldn’t be too much of a deal. But… just in case, letting you know the procedure,’

‘You’re freaking out a bit,’

‘Of course I am! It’s 10 days! And I have to live with my grandfather. I won’t be seeing you or anyone else. Well Ash is coming so that should be fun.. but.. what if grandfather has found out about you. Oh god, what if he asks,’

‘Ok you are freaking out badly. Calm down, clear your thoughts. Just deny it if he asks. Tell him it was a rumour because of the dance,’

‘You’re right-Oh!’ Two owls flew past their heads, feathers falling off them. Their owners ran behind them, to put them back into their cages. Laura dusted her forehead, getting the feather off her.

She jumped down the Hogwarts Express onto the platform, carrying Ser Baron and Blueberry in their cages. Behind her, Jungkook pulled his bag down and joined her on the platform.

‘You got some feathers stuck,’ he said, pointing to a lock of hair near her ear.

‘I thought I got them all,’ she tried to remove it but it was too tangled up.

‘Hold on, let me,’ he cupped her face and pulled out the feather.

‘Ah there! I see him,’ they heard a voice and soon a rather good looking middle aged couple stood in front of them with awkward smiles. Their eyes looked curiously at Laura and then to Jungkook. Laura guessed who they were by the familiar features and froze on her spot.

‘Mom?’ Jungkook pulled his hands back to himself.

‘Hi Kookie!’ His mom said, trying to hide her excitement as she continued looking from her son to Laura. ‘The train got quite late this time,’

‘I didn't know you were coming!’ Jungkook was utterly dumbfounded.

‘Don't we always! So, who’s your friend?’

‘Mom…’ Jungkook's sighed, covering his face in his hands. His face burned red. At that moment his dad pushed forward to take the awkwardness to a new level.

‘Hello dear,’ he held his hand out for Laura to shake. ‘I'm Jeon Jungwo,’ he smiled.

Laura slowly put her hand in his. He and his son had the same smile, ‘L-Laura Dracwyn,’

His mom’s eyes widened even more at the family name she just mentioned.

‘Can I meet you all at the exit? Please?’ Jungkook looked fed up.

‘Jungkook is that the way to greet your mom!’ His dad lightly scolded him and Laura chuckled. ‘Would you liked to be dropped anywhere dear?’ He turned to Laura. ‘Has your family come to pick you up,’

‘Thank you but my family has sent someone for me,’ Laura said.

‘Please!!’ Jungkook exasperated. ‘Don't crowd her with questions now! I’ll see you at the exit!’ He pushed at his parents.

‘Alright alright!’ His mom rolled her eyes. ‘It was nice meeting you dear,’ she said to Laura.

‘Nice meeting you too Mrs. Jeon,’ she said courteously and the Jeon parents left them, waving at Jungkook with hype.

‘Sorry about that,’ Jungkook said, scratching the back of his head in utter embarrassment.

‘It's alright,’ Laura said. ‘They seem nice. You think they knew?’

‘Oh I'm sure they have a strong suspicion. They were acting so weird! Oh god I'm embarrassed. I really am sorry,’

‘So… was that a good reaction? They don't have a problem that I'm a Dracwyn?’

‘Oh they loved you,’ Jungkook said. ‘I could see it on their faces,’

‘I'm glad then,’ Laura said shrugging slightly as they walked forward. ‘So… I guess I'll see you after 10 days…’ she moved to discreetly hold his hand between the fold of their cloaks when someone pushed between them, holding Laura by the arm.

‘Yoongi?’ Laura seemed confused but followed his gaze. He was looking to the front with a serious expression.

‘What’s he doing here?’ She hissed in disbelief.

‘I don't know. But it's better to just say goodbye at a distance for now,’ Yoongi said and turned to a confused Jungkook. ‘Really sorry Kookie,’

‘He never comes to pick us up,’ Laura was biting through her teeth. ‘Why…’ she continued to looked to the front, at their grandfather Charles Dracwyn. The tall old man had just entered with his chauffeur and his hard eyes were looking around for them.

‘Maybe he suspects we aren’t exhibiting the kind of behaviour he wants,’ Yoongi said. ‘Let’s go. Take your bag,’

The Min-Dracwyns took their luggage and walked towards Charles. Laura glanced back at Jungkook once before he disappeared behind the crowd. Yoongi saw Hoseok from the corner of his eye. He was with his sister, and had the brightest smile on his face but the smoke from the Hogwarts Express soon veiled him. Yoongi gulped and faced back in front with Laura. That world was behind them for now. The real world awaited.

‘Grandfather,’ both greeted him.

‘Ah there you are!’ he clapped a hand on Yoongi’s back. ‘They aren’t keeping the train schedule I see,’

‘Hey Laura!’ Ash waved and came to her.

‘Grandfather,’ Laura said, ‘This is Ash Vorhart. William and Camilla Vorhart’s daughter,’

‘Ah yes, I know them. I have worked with your father briefly,’ he shook her hand.

‘Pleased to meet you Lord Dracwyn,’ Ash smiled.

‘She is my roommate this year,’ Laura said. ‘I have invited her over for Christmas,’

‘Lovely,’ Charles said. ‘I’m glad to know you will have good company,’

‘I should take my leave now,’ Ash said. ‘My parents are waiting,’

‘Do send my regards to both of them,’ Charles said. ‘Shall we get going? I’ll admit I’m surprised Laura. You have invited a friend over,’

‘She’s… she’s nice. You’ll like her,’

‘Yes. It’s been a while since you called any of your old friends home,’

‘Well… you know how they were. They landed us in court a few months back,’

‘Hmmm,’ Charle’s jaw set hard. They reached their car and got in. ‘Was there any further trouble regarding that?’

‘No. No one has stirred up any complications,’

‘And… are you still in touch with the people involved in the case? Like Kim Seokjin?’

Yoongi cut in at this point as Laura turned her attention to the passing traffic outside, trying her best to not give a snarky comment back to her grandfather.

‘Kim Seokjin has not caused any trouble,’ Yoongi said. ‘He keeps to his business. Whatever information you received of him trying to decieve us in some way is probably wrong,’

‘You are getting defensive of him Yoongi. Have you two become friends?’

‘No,’ Yoongi said through gritted teeth. ‘But I know about him enough to know that he is not scheming anything. I kept an eye out to see if he’s up to something, we’ve been careful about accessing him and found nothing. So let’s not create arguments amongst us just because a fellow Kim studies with us,’

‘Very well,’ Charles took out an envelope from his cloak. ‘As usual the Montagues have invited us for christmas dinner,’ he held out the silver card and behind it a deep green one, ‘And so have the Malfoys,’

‘The Malfoys?’ Laura looked appalled. ‘Why? Is Aunt Narcissa trying to make up for the mess her sister made for us?’

‘Probably Lucius feels his stance with our family is at risk and he should feel so,’ Charles said. ‘We all know who he was and what he did for the Dark Lord. Power mongrel… kissed the Dark Lord’s hand and then pretended to be under the Imperius Curse. He betrayed me when I wanted to appeal to the Order of the Phoenix. Now that the Dark Lord is gone, he is trying to ingratiate the Dracwyn family. Of course he needs to surround himself with the most powerful people to feel important. Well he’s not going to get it so easily. There’s a cost to angering a Dracwyn,’

‘They are still family,’ Yoongi said.

‘Distant family. Narcissa is related to us, not her abhorrent husband,’

‘So that’s a no,’ Laura flicked the card away. ‘And no for the Montagues as well,’ she put it away too.

‘The Montagues are a good family,’ Charles said. ‘They’ve been loyal to us. Rejecting every invitation of their’s shows ungratefulness,’

‘As I said my roommate is coming to visit. We see enough of Graham Montague in school. I do not wish to bear his obnoxious behaviour on christmas. Can we move faster? What’s taking so long?’

‘Too many wizarding cars out here my lady,’ the chauffeur said. ‘Waiting for my turn to zip through,’

‘So most families have cars now?’ Laura asked.

‘Seems so. The ministry is making it more affordable to buy,’

She looked out of the window, ‘Muggles honk a lot don’t they,’

‘I had to learn how to drive in a muggle car first my lady,’ the chauffeur said to her. ‘It’s a nightmare honestly, I don’t blame them for the honkin’

Laura looked out the window wondering if Jungkook was in his family car as well. His family was half muggle so they would definitely own some kind of vehicle. It was embarrassing for her to accept but his father was perhaps the first muggle she had shook hands with and spoken to. She had never been to a muggle town or have had to encounter a muggle person during her travels. That’s how much aristocratic children were protected from the outside world. She sat back on her seat, realizing how wrong her outlook had been when she was younger. Muggles are just like us aren’t they? They aren’t weird or of lesser intellect…. They are… just like us. They have their own inventions to help them with their chores, like she saw in her past months with Jungkook, Hoseok, Emina and Taehyung. This time, returning home felt different… like she had lived another life and was visiting her old world now.

*

_Mood Music (Don't forget to open in a new tab/window)[Ramin Djawadi - White Walkers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6nq66hG118&ab_channel=scoregameofthrones) _

Taehyung sat on the window of the Astronomy tower, overlooking the castle grounds now draped in white. He was scribbling all over the page of a notebook, aggressive jagged lines overlapping over and over again. Now that the classes were done, the Yule Ball was over, his friends were gone, he had time to sit calmly and think over all that he knew about his powers.

He had to know the full potential of his powers, or he wouldn't be able to sit still. But how was he to know more without putting himself in danger

He was thinking about the guild, about Serafin and his father and if he would ever be able to contact them again. 

‘A-BRAX-AS’ he muttered at his scribbles, pencil running over the X repeatedly, wondering about the one that sat at the head of it all. How would he know if he can trust Abraxas?

_Hello Taehyung_

A shiver went down his spine, hearing that thin voice. He looked up with wide eyes but there was nothing unusual, no moving shapes, no misty apparitions.

Was he hallucinating?

_I’m glad you’ve been thinking about me…_

No, this wasn’t a hallucination. Who was this speaking to him out of nowhere?

_I’ve waited a long time to talk to you... My name, is Abraxas._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's finally here....
> 
> :D
> 
> With this, we come to the end of the second part. Now the final part 3 remains. [House of Cards Part 3 - Preview](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18844807)
> 
> When I first posted this, I honestly did not think my story will make it this far. *bows deep to all you lovely and encouraging people* THANK YOU SO MUCH! <3
> 
> See you on the 14th of June!

**Author's Note:**

> **Incase you are confused with the character names, here is a[GLOSSARY](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16612895/chapters/42275021) chapter that I added in part 1. **
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> As always, your comments are heartily welcome! ^__^ 
> 
> You can find me on twitter > [ jackfruitnim ](https://mobile.twitter.com/jackfruitnim) I'm always up for interactions and love discussing my fanfic, hearing your fic recs, music recs! (don't be shy, I love it when my readers talk to me!)
> 
> If you guys like the music I've included and want more of what sets the tone for this story (both instrumental and lyrical) here is the link for it > [ House of Cards Music ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUDirXPAWEhIeE8GMOZB03kvj54plsFLw) It will be updated as the chapters update.


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